Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866911227752480768 |
|---|---|
| author | Bajpai, Suyash Lucas-DeMott, Aviva Murugan, Nirosha J Levin, Michael Kurian, Philip |
| author_facet | Bajpai, Suyash Lucas-DeMott, Aviva Murugan, Nirosha J Levin, Michael Kurian, Philip |
| contents | While computational capacity limits of the universe and carbon-based life have been estimated, a stricter bound for aneural organisms has not been established. Physarum polycephalum, a unicellular, multinucleated amoeba, is capable of complex problem-solving despite lacking neurons. By analyzing growth dynamics in two distinct Physarum strains under diverse biological conditions, we map morphological evolution to information processing. As the Margolus-Levitin theorem constrains maximum computation rates by accessible energies, we analyze high-throughput time-series data of Physarum's morphology--quantified through area, perimeter, circularity, and fractal dimension-to determine upper bounds on the number of logical operations achievable through its hydromechanical, chemical, kinetic, and quantum-optical degrees of freedom. Based on spatial distribution of ATP and explored areas, Physarum can perform up to ~$10^{36}$ logical operations in 24 hours, scaling linearly in the non-equilibrium steady state. This framework enables comparison of the computational capacities of life, exploiting either classical or quantum degrees of freedom. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_19976 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum Bajpai, Suyash Lucas-DeMott, Aviva Murugan, Nirosha J Levin, Michael Kurian, Philip Quantum Physics Biological Physics While computational capacity limits of the universe and carbon-based life have been estimated, a stricter bound for aneural organisms has not been established. Physarum polycephalum, a unicellular, multinucleated amoeba, is capable of complex problem-solving despite lacking neurons. By analyzing growth dynamics in two distinct Physarum strains under diverse biological conditions, we map morphological evolution to information processing. As the Margolus-Levitin theorem constrains maximum computation rates by accessible energies, we analyze high-throughput time-series data of Physarum's morphology--quantified through area, perimeter, circularity, and fractal dimension-to determine upper bounds on the number of logical operations achievable through its hydromechanical, chemical, kinetic, and quantum-optical degrees of freedom. Based on spatial distribution of ATP and explored areas, Physarum can perform up to ~$10^{36}$ logical operations in 24 hours, scaling linearly in the non-equilibrium steady state. This framework enables comparison of the computational capacities of life, exploiting either classical or quantum degrees of freedom. |
| title | Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum |
| topic | Quantum Physics Biological Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976 |