Self-replication of a quantum artificial organism driven by single-photon pulses

Area of Science:

• Artificial Life
• Quantum Thermodynamics
• Self-Organization

Background:

• Creating artificial life that self-replicates and evolves in hardware remains a significant challenge.
• Existing artificial life lacks self-organized hardware, while nonequilibrium thermodynamics has not achieved open-ended evolution.
• Bridging the gap between inanimate matter and living systems requires integrating self-organization with evolutionary dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the emergence of artificial-life code within a nonequilibrium physical system.
• To explore self-replication and mutation in a quantum artificial organism.
• To understand the thermodynamic mechanisms driving lifelike self-organization and evolution.

Main Methods:

• Devised a toy model using a chain of lambda systems as a quantum artificial organism.
• Introduced single-photon pulses to a zero-temperature environment to induce self-replication.
• Analyzed spontaneous mutations arising from off-resonant photon absorption and calculated replication probability.

Main Results:

• Spontaneous mutations during self-replication were found to be unavoidable due to photon interactions.
• Replication probability was shown to be directly proportional to absorbed work from photons.
• Demonstrated dissipative adaptation as a thermodynamic mechanism underlying self-organization and evolution.

Conclusions:

• Self-replication in this quantum system facilitates the coexistence of dissipative adaptation (convergence) and open-ended evolution (divergence).
• The findings suggest a pathway for creating artificial life with both self-organization and evolutionary capabilities.
• This work offers insights into the fundamental principles governing the transition from nonliving to living matter.