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As we discover numerous habitable planets around other stars in the Milky Way galaxy, including the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, one cannot help but wonder why have we not detected evidence for an advanced alien civilization as of yet.…

Popular Physics · Physics 2018-01-23 Abraham Loeb

For any asymptotically flat spacetime with a suitable causal structure obeying (a weak form of) Penrose's cosmic censorship conjecture and satisfying conditions guaranteeing focusing of complete null geodesics, we prove that active…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2010-04-06 G. J. Galloway , E. Woolgar

The Great Filter hypothesis is an extension of the Fermi Paradox: "If life is so common in the universe, why don't we see it?" The Great Filter theory posits there are multiple obstacles or filters life must pass through which ultimately…

Populations and Evolution · Quantitative Biology 2026-02-10 Darren J. Dougan

Gray (2015) argued that the Fermi paradox (FP) is a misnomer, and it is not a valid paradox. Gray also speculated that the argument was misattributed to Fermi, whose lunchtime remarks did not pertain to the existence of extraterrestrial…

General Physics · Physics 2016-10-03 Milan M. Cirkovic

We present a simplified description of expansionistic life in the standard relativistic cosmology. The resulting model is exactly integrable, yielding a simple set of predictive formulas. This allows one to quickly propose new scenarios for…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2018-05-17 S. Jay Olson

As humanity embarks on an age of exploration, the question of whether we are alone in the universe remains unanswered. This comprehensive review reflects on the paradoxical nature of our existence in a seemingly lifeless cosmos, delving…

Popular Physics · Physics 2023-07-13 Jonathan H. Jiang , Avery M. Minion , Stuart F. Taylor

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a scientific endeavor which struggles with unique issues -- a strong indeterminacy in what data to look for and when to do so. This has led to attempts at finding both fundamental…

Information Theory · Computer Science 2021-07-22 Ian George , Xinan Chen , Lav R. Varshney

Since it began \cite{CocconiMorrison}, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has focused on interstellar \emph{classical} communication. Recently, Berera \cite{Berera:2020rpl} pointed out that, at certain frequencies, photon…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2024-08-06 Latham Boyle

What is the chance we start a conversation with another civilization like our own? Our technological society produced signals that could be received by other extraterrestrial civilizations, within a sphere around us with a radius of $\sim…

Popular Physics · Physics 2021-08-17 Amir Siraj , Abraham Loeb

Earth's future detectability depends upon the trajectory of our civilization over the coming centuries. Human civilization is also the only known example of an energy-intensive civilization, so our history and future trajectories provide…

General Physics · Physics 2019-02-22 Jacob Haqq-Misra

We are at a stage in our evolution where we do not yet know if we will ever communicate with intelligent beings that have evolved on other planets, yet we are intelligent and curious enough to wonder about this. We find ourselves wondering…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2016-08-23 David Haussler

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…

Popular Physics · Physics 2017-05-10 Anders Sandberg , Stuart Armstrong , Milan M. Cirkovic

Given the vast distances between stars in the Milky Way and the long timescales required for interstellar travel, we consider how a civilization might overcome the constraints arising from finite lifespans and the speed of light without…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2026-04-21 Chris Reiss , Justin C. Feng

An interesting consequence of the modern cosmological paradigm is the spatial infinity of the universe. When coupled with naturalistic understanding of the origin of life and intelligence, which follows the basic tenets of astrobiology, and…

Astrophysics · Physics 2008-11-26 Milan M. Cirkovic

It is argued that some of the recent claims for cosmology are grossly overblown. Cosmology rests on a very small database: it suffers from many fundamental difficulties as a science (if it is a science at all) whilst observations of distant…

Astrophysics · Physics 2008-11-26 M. J. Disney

The lack of evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial life, even the simplest forms of animal life, makes it is difficult to decide whether the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is more a high-risk, high-payoff endeavor…

Popular Physics · Physics 2017-04-14 Claudio Grimaldi

Persistence phenomena in colonization processes could explain the negative results of SETI search preserving the possibility of a galactic civilization. However, persistence phenomena also indicates that search of technological…

Disordered Systems and Neural Networks · Physics 2007-05-23 Osame Kinouchi

This paper develops a detailed quantitative model which uses the Drake equation and an assumption of an average maximum radio broadcasting distance by an communicative civilization to derive a minimum civilization density for contact…

General Physics · Physics 2010-02-07 Reginald D. Smith

One of the most interesting questions that astronomy can hope to answer is: are we alone in our Milky Way galaxy? A detection of an electromagnetic (EM) signal generated by an extraterrestrial technological intelligence, or the presence in…

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics · Physics 2026-05-01 B. Zuckerman

We construct a gedanken experiment in which an extremal Kerr black hole interacts with a test electromagnetic field. Using Teukolsky's solutions for electromagnetic perturbations in Kerr spacetime, and the conservation laws imposed by the…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2014-04-11 Koray Düztaş