Related papers: "Permanence" - An Adaptationist Solution to Fermi'…
We analyze the long-term stability of a stochastic model designed to illustrate the adaptation of a population to variation in its environment. A piecewise-deterministic process modeling adaptation is coupled to a Feller logistic diffusion…
Whether we are alone in the universe is one of the greatest mysteries facing humankind. Given the >100 billion stars in our galaxy, many have argued that it is statistically unlikely that life, including intelligent life, has not emerged…
The Great Filter interpretation of Fermi's great silence asserts that $Npq$ is not a very large number, where $N$ is the number of potentially life-supporting planets in the observable universe, $p$ is the probability that a randomly chosen…
Applying a principle of "radical mundanity", this paper examines explanations for the lack of strong evidence for the presence of technology-using extraterrestrial civilizations (ETCs) in the Galaxy - the Fermi paradox. With this principle,…
If a civilization wants to maximize computation it appears rational to aestivate until the far future in order to exploit the low temperature environment: this can produce a $10^{30}$ multiplier of achievable computation. We hence suggest…
The now classical replicator equation describes a wide variety of biological phenomena, including those in theoretical genetics, evolutionary game theory, or in the theories of the origin of life. Among other questions, the permanence of…
Quantum mechanics is an extremely successful theory that agrees with every experiment. However, the principle of linear superposition, a central tenet of the theory, apparently contradicts a commonplace observation: macroscopic objects are…
In this study, a variety of methods are tested and compared for the numerical solution of the Schr\"odinger equation for few-body systems with explicitely time-dependent Hamiltonians, with the aim to find the optimal one. The configuration…
We investigate the cosmological evolution of an interacting phantom energy model in which the phantom field has interaction with the dark matter. We discuss the existence and stability of scaling solutions for two types of specific…
Erwin Schr\"odinger is famous for presenting his wave equation of motion that jump-started quantum mechanics. His disenchantment with the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics led him to unveil the Schr\"odinger's cat paradox,…
The issue of the "eternal return" is examined from the perspective of the topology of spacetime. Constraints on dynamical laws for the periodic evolution of a system or universe are highlighted. Using a Fourier series expansion, an infinite…
A selfconsistent system of equations describing evolution of linear spherically symmetric perturbations in Fridmann world by an arbitrary equation of state is obtained. The perturbations singular part corresponding to massive particle-like…
A critical review of frequency-shift phenomena a la Doppler effect is presented. The importance of Fermi's theory of 1932 is pointed out, and it is argued that there exists a gap in our understanding of this phenomena at a fundamental…
One of the beneficial outcomes of searching for life in the Universe is that it grants greater awareness of our own problems here on Earth. Lack of contact with alien beings to date might actually comprise a null "signal" pointing humankind…
This essay aims to propose construction theory, a new domain of theoretical research on machine construction, and use it to shed light on a fundamental relationship between living and computational systems. Specifically, we argue that…
This article provides an introduction to Schramm(stochastic)-Loewner evolution (SLE) and to its connection with conformal field theory, from the point of view of its application to two-dimensional critical behaviour. The emphasis is on the…
We study evolutionary game dynamics in finite populations. We analyze an evolutionary process, which we call pairwise comparison, for which we adopt the ubiquitous Fermi distribution function from statistical mechanics. The inverse…
We propose a model to characterize how a diffusing population adapts under a time periodic selection, while its environment undergoes shifts and size changes, leading to significant differences with classical results on fixed domains. After…
Does quantum theory apply at all scales, including that of observers? New light on this fundamental question has recently been shed through a resurgence of interest in the long-standing Wigner's friend paradox. This is a thought experiment…
Within the scheme of conformal cyclic cosmology (CCC), information can be transmitted from aeon to aeon. Accordingly, the "Fermi paradox" and the SETI programme - of communication by remote civilizations - may be examined from a novel…