The Entropy Principle and the Influence of Sociological Pressures on SETI

arXiv:1004.1822v1 [physics.pop-ph] 11 Apr 2010 The Entropy Principle, and the Influence of Sociological Pressures on SETI V. Bozhilov1 and Duncan H. Forgan2 October 23, 2018 1Faculty of Physics, Department of Astronomy, Sofia University, Bulgaria; email: archivl@yahoo.com 2Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh; email: dhf@roe.ac.uk Abstract We begin with the premise that the law of entropy could prove to be fundamental for the evolution of intelligent life and the advent of technological civilization. Building on recent theoretical results, we combine a modern approach to evolutionary theory with Monte Carlo Realization Techniques. A nu- merical test for a proposed significance of the law of entropy within the evolution of intelligent species is performed and results are compared with a neutral test hypothesis. Some clarifying aspects on the emergence of intelligent species arise and are discussed in the framework of contemporary astrobiology. Keywords: astrobiology, SETI, evolution, entropy, Monte Carlo, extraterrestrial intelligence, Fermi paradox, exoplanets 1 The Entropy Principle and SETI 2 1 Introduction Although panspermia (Hoyle & Wickramasinghe, 1977) and the Rare Earth hypothesis (Ward & Brownlee, 2000) are two of the most popular paradigms regarding the evolution of ETIs, modern biology indicates that alternative theories on the development of intelligent life may also carry weight. Recent papers (Jaakkola,Salla et al., 2008, 2009; Kaila & Annila, 2008; Fu, 2007; Nam & Bozhilov, 2009) have demon- strated that up until now, one fundamental principle of nature the second law of thermodynamics, has not yet been fully incorporated in evolutionary algorithms. Entropy is fundamental to thermodynamics and its importance in physics and in astrophysics is indis- putable. Biology is now incorporating it into the evolutionary paradigm. Numerous analyses (ibid.) show evolution might be understood as a process of constant complexity increase, further developing the corre- lation between entropy and evolution on both microscopic and macroscopic scales. Therefore, it may prove worthwhile to study the effect of the 2nd Law on the latter stages of evolution in particular the evolution of intelligent technological civilizations. This paper aims to explore a new hypoth- esis regarding the emergence of intelligent life, which views the process of natural selection and evolution as intrinsically linked with the second law of thermodynamics. The paper is divided into 6 sections. The Entropy Hypothesis, which links the second law of thermodynam- ics with the evolution of intelligent life, is postulated in section 2. In section 3, we outline the numerical method by which the development of life and intelligence in the Galaxy can be simulated. In section 4, we display the results of numerical simulations describing the development of entropy-driven ETIs in the Galaxy. This data is compared with a neutral baseline simulation to study the unique features of entropy- driven ETIs. We discuss the results and provide conclusions in sections 5 and 6 respectively. 2 The Evolution of Intelligent Technological Civilizations, the Sec- ond Law of Thermodynamics and the Entropy Hypothesis Life on Earth began approximately some 3.8 Gyr ago (Mojzsis et al., 1996; Ehrenfreund et al., 2002; Manning, 2006). The evolution towards intelligent life comprises 6 important stages (Carter, 2008): bio- genesis, the advent of bacteria, the advent of eukaryotes, combigenesis, the advent of metazoans, and the birth of technological civilization. Evolution is boosted as these stages are achieved, giving rise to a step-like scenario. Some of these steps are hard in the evolutionary sense i.e. the probability of their occurrence is low, and therefore require relatively long timescales to occur. The biogenesis and the emergence of eukaryotes are thought as the two hard steps in the evolutionary scenario (Carter, 2008). However, the many possible evolutionary pathways that lead to the development of intelligent life forms and a technically advanced civilization like ours, re- main difficult to define ( ´Cirkovi´c 2007; Spiegel et al. 2008; Lal 2008 and references within). According to recent theory, the Second Law of Thermodynamics could prove to be essential for un- derstanding biological evolution. The mathematical analysis of the importance of the Second Law in evolution is stated in Kaila & Annila (2008): The second law of thermodynamics is a powerful imperative that has acquired several expressions during the past centuries. Connections between two of its most prominent forms, i.e. the evolutionary principle by natural selection and the principle of least action, are examined. Although no fundamentally new findings are provided, it is illuminating to see how the two principles rationalizing natural motions reconcile to one law. The Entropy Principle and SETI 3 The equation of evolution including

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