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

TL;DR

This paper extends the Daisy World model using Semantic Information Theory to analyze information flow in exoplanetary biospheres, providing new insights into biosignatures and planetary self-regulation.

Contribution

It introduces an informational architecture framework for Daisy World models, tailored for M-dwarf exoplanets, integrating stochastic differential equations to study biosphere-environment interactions.

Findings

Correlations between biosphere and environment increase with stellar luminosity.

Distinct phases of information exchange are identified during system evolution.

The model offers a quantitative measure of informational feedback in planetary systems.

Abstract

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 \emph{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 \emph{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.