- 4610 - LIFE
ON PLANETS - what
are the odds? - A new model calculates chances of
intelligent beings in our universe and beyond.
The chances of intelligent life emerging in our universe, and in any
hypothetical ones beyond it, can be estimated by a new theoretical model which
has echoes of the famous “Drake Equation.
-
-------------------------------------- 4610
- LIFE ON
PLANETS - what are the odds?
-
- This was the formula that American
astronomer Dr. Frank Drake came up with in the 1960s to calculate the number of
detectable extraterrestrial civilizations in our Milky Way galaxy. More than 60 years later, astrophysicists led
by Durham University have produced a different model which instead focuses on
the conditions created by the acceleration of the universe's expansion and the
amount of stars formed.
-
- It is thought this expansion is being
driven by a mysterious force called “dark energy” that makes up more than two
thirds of the universe.
-
- Since stars are a precondition for the
emergence of life as we know it, the model could therefore be used to estimate
the probability of generating intelligent life in our universe, and in a
multiverse scenario of different hypothetical universes.
-
- The new research does not attempt to
calculate the absolute number of observers (i.e. intelligent life) in the
universe but instead considers the relative probability of a randomly chosen
observer inhabiting a universe with particular properties.
-
- The study concludes that a typical observer
would expect to experience a substantially larger density of dark energy than
is seen in our own universe, suggesting the ingredients it possesses make it a
rare and unusual case in the multiverse.
-
- The approach presented in the paper involves
calculating the fraction of ordinary matter converted into stars over the
entire history of the universe, for different dark energy densities. The model predicts this fraction would be
approximately 27% in a universe that is most efficient at forming stars,
compared to 23% in our own universe.
-
- This means we don't live in the
hypothetical universe with the highest odds of forming intelligent life
forms. The value of dark energy density
we observe in our universe is not the one that would maximize the chances of
life, according to the model.
-
- Understanding dark energy and the impact on
our universe is one of the biggest challenges in cosmology and fundamental
physics. The parameters that govern our
universe, including the density of dark energy, could explain our own
existence. Even a significantly
higher dark energy density would still be compatible with life, suggesting we
may not live in the most likely of universes.
-
- The new model could allow scientists to
understand the effects of differing densities of dark energy on the formation
of structures in the universe and the conditions for life to develop in the
cosmos. Dark energy makes the universe
expand faster, balancing gravity's pull and creating a universe where both
expansion and structure formation are possible.
-
- However, for life to develop, there would
need to be regions where matter can clump together to form stars and planets,
and it would need to remain stable for billions of years to allow life to
evolve.
-
- Star formation and the evolution of the
large-scale structure of the universe combine in a subtle way to determine the
optimal value of the dark energy density needed for the generation of
intelligent life.
-
- They plan to employ the model to explore
the emergence of life across different universes and see whether some
fundamental questions we ask ourselves about our own universe must be
reinterpreted. Dr. Drake's equation was
more of a guide for scientists on how to go about searching for life, rather
than an estimating tool or serious attempt to determine an accurate result.
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- Its parameters included the rate of yearly
star formation in the Milky Way, the fraction of stars with planets orbiting
them and the number of worlds that could potentially support life. By comparison, the new model connects the
rate of yearly star formation in the universe with its fundamental ingredients,
such as the dark energy density.
-
-
November 15, 2024 LIFE
ON PLANETS - what
are the odds? 4610
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--------------------- --- Sunday, November 17,
2024
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