On The Timescale Forcing in Astrobiology

TL;DR

This paper explores how correlated cosmic events like gamma-ray bursts influence the timing of biological evolution on planets, challenging previous anti-SETI assumptions and supporting ongoing SETI efforts.

Contribution

It introduces Monte Carlo simulations to analyze the impact of Galactic gamma-ray bursts on the evolution timescales of habitable planets.

Findings

Biological evolution times are highly correlated across the Galactic Habitable Zone.

Results challenge Carter's anti-SETI anthropic argument.

Supports the feasibility of ongoing and future SETI observations.

Abstract

We investigate the effects of correlated global regulation mechanisms, especially Galactic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), on the temporal distribution of hypothetical inhabited planets, using simple Monte Carlo numerical experiments. Starting with recently obtained models of planetary ages in the Galactic Habitable Zone (GHZ), we obtain that the times required for biological evolution on habitable planets of the Milky Way are highly correlated. These results run contrary to the famous anti-SETI anthropic argument of Carter, and give tentative support to the ongoing and future SETI observation projects.