Gaia - Planetary Perspectives

Exo-Daisy World: Revisiting Gaia Theory through An Informational Architecture Perspective

By Keith Cowing
Status Report
astro-ph.EP
November 7, 2024
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Exo-Daisy World: Revisiting Gaia Theory through An Informational Architecture Perspective
Daisy World model — Grok via Astrobiology.com

The Daisy World model has long served as a foundational framework for understanding the self-regulation of planetary biospheres, providing insights into the feedback mechanisms that may govern inhabited exoplanets.

In this study, we extend the classic Daisy World model through the lens of Semantic Information Theory (SIT), aiming to characterize the information flow between the biosphere and planetary environment — what we term the information architecture of Daisy World systems.

Our objective is to develop novel methodologies for analyzing the evolution of coupled planetary systems, including biospheres and geospheres, with implications for astrobiological observations and the identification of agnostic biosignatures.

To operationalize SIT in this context, we introduce a version of the Daisy World model tailored to reflect potential conditions on M-dwarf exoplanets, formulating a system of stochastic differential equations that describe the co-evolution of the daisies and their planetary environment.

Analysis of this Exo-Daisy World model reveals how correlations between the biosphere and environment intensify with rising stellar luminosity, and how these correlations correspond to distinct phases of information exchange between the coupled systems. This rein control provides a quantitative description of the informational feedback between the biosphere and its host planet.

Finally, we discuss the broader implications of our approach for developing detailed ExoGaia models of inhabited exoplanetary systems, proposing new avenues for interpreting astrobiological data and exploring biosignature candidates.

Damian R Sowinski, Gourab Ghoshal, Adam Frank

Comments: 14 pages, 4 figures, 1 appendix
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems (nlin.AO); Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph); Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph); Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE)
Cite as: arXiv:2411.03421 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2411.03421v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2411.03421
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Submission history
From: Damian Sowinski
[v1] Tue, 5 Nov 2024 18:59:58 UTC (804 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.03421
Astrobiology

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻