Related papers: Deconstructing Alien Hunting
Naturalness problems such as the hierarchy problem and the origin of dark energy remain significant challenges in modern cosmology. This paper develops a rigorous mathematical framework where each observer defines their own universe, and…
Rigorously quantifying the information in high contrast imaging data is important for informing follow-up strategies to confirm the substellar nature of a point source, constraining theoretical models of planet-disk interactions, and…
In statistics, there are a variety of methods for performing model selection that all stem from slightly different paradigms of statistical inference. The reasons for choosing one particular method over another seem to be based entirely on…
A variety of systems in physics, chemistry, biology, and psychology are modeled in terms of diffusing "searchers" looking for "targets." Examples range from gene regulation, to cell sensing, to human decision-making. A commonly studied…
The discovery of inhabited exoplanets hinges on identifying biosignature gases. JWST can reveal biosignature gases, though current discoveries have yet to evidence life. The central challenge is attribution: how can we confidently identify…
The investigation of exoplanetary habitability is integral to advancing our knowledge of extraterrestrial life potential and detailing the environmental conditions of distant worlds. In this analysis, we explore the properties of exoplanets…
Although many solar systems have been discovered, only one example of life is known. Thus, terrestrial life represents merely one data point. Consequently, extrapolating from terrestrial life to life elsewhere in the galaxy and beyond is…
As astronomers, we are living an exciting time for what concerns the search for other worlds. Recent discoveries have already deeply impacted our vision of planetary formation and architectures. Future bio-signature discoveries will…
The search for technosignatures from the Galaxy or the nearby universe raises two main questions: What are the possible characteristics of technosignatures? and How can future searches be optimized to enhance the probability of detection?…
Testing hypotheses is an issue of primary importance in the scientific research, as well as in many other human activities. Much clarification about it can be achieved if the process of learning from data is framed in a stochastic model of…
Astronomers, and in particular exoplaneteers, have a curious habit of expressing Bayes factors as frequentist sigma values. This is of course completely unnecessary and arguably rather ill-advised. Regardless, the practice is common -…
The field of exoplanetary science is making rapid progress both in statistical studies of exoplanet properties as well as in individual characterization. As space missions provide an emerging picture of formation and evolution of…
Most searches for alien radio transmission have focused on finding omni-directional or purposefully earth-directed beams of enduring duration. However, most of the interesting signals so far detected have been transient and non-repeatable…
Planned and ongoing searches for life, both biological and technological, confront an epistemic barrier concerning false positives - namely, that we don't know what we don't know. The most defensible and agnostic approach is to adopt…
Non-canonical phenomena - defined here as observables which are either insufficiently characterized by existing theory, or otherwise represent inconsistencies with prior observations - are of burgeoning interest in the field of…
Extremophiles have gained prominence by providing an experimental approach to astrobiology. Extremophiles gain equal value by being part of a framework for high-level characterisation of the evolutionary mechanisms that must necessarily…
The search for life on exoplanets is one of the grand scientific challenges of our time. The strategy to date has been to find (e.g., through transit surveys like Kepler) Earth-like exoplanets in their stars habitable zone, then use…
For the first time in human history, we will soon be able to apply the scientific method to the question "Are We Alone?" The rapid advance of exoplanet discovery, planetary systems science, and telescope technology will soon allow…
One of the big challenges in exoplanet science is to determine the atmospheric makeup of extrasolar planets, and to find biosignatures that hint at the existence of biochemical processes on another world. The biomarkers we are trying to…
For centuries, astronomers have discussed the possibility of inhabited worlds - from Herschel's 18th-century observations suggesting Mars may host life, to the systematic search for technosignatures that began in the 1960s using radio…