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Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

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Lotka-Volterra models for extraterrestrial self-replicating probes.

Yifan Chen¹, Jiayi Ni¹, Yen Chin Ong^1,2

¹Center for Gravitation and Cosmology, College of Physical Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, 180 Siwangting Road, Yangzhou City, 225002 Jiangsu Province China.

European Physical Journal Plus

|October 17, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Even with mutations, self-replicating probes could still proliferate throughout the galaxy. This study suggests mutated probes may even accelerate galactic colonization, challenging previous assumptions about their self-limiting nature.

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Area of Science:

Astrobiology
Theoretical Physics
Ecology

Background:

The Fermi paradox questions the absence of observable extraterrestrial civilizations.
Self-replicating probes are a hypothetical method for galactic exploration by advanced civilizations.
Previous research suggested probe mutations might limit their numbers, but this is debated.

Purpose of the Study:

To re-evaluate the impact of mutations on self-replicating probe populations.
To investigate if mutated probes could limit or accelerate galactic colonization.
To inform the design principles of future self-replicating probes.

Main Methods:

Utilized a Lotka-Volterra model, a predator-prey ecological model, to simulate probe dynamics.
Analyzed the interaction between progenitor probes and mutated variants.
Examined the long-term population trends under different mutation scenarios.

Main Results:

Mutated probes do not significantly reduce the total number of self-replicating probes.
Mutated probes can drive progenitor probes to extinction, effectively replacing them.
The galactic spread of probes may be more efficient than previously assumed.

Conclusions:

The proliferation of self-replicating probes, even with mutations, remains a plausible scenario for galactic exploration.
Mutations may enhance, rather than hinder, probe colonization.
Probe design should consider that failure to recognize 'self' due to mutation may not limit probe numbers.