Searching for Life-As-We-Don't-Know-It: Mission-relevant Application of Assembly Theory for Exoplanet Life Detection
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arXiv
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| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866911568326819840 |
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| author | Walker, Sara Janin, Estelle Shkolnik, Evgenya Slocombe, Louie Cronin, Leroy |
| author_facet | Walker, Sara Janin, Estelle Shkolnik, Evgenya Slocombe, Louie Cronin, Leroy |
| contents | This white paper introduces a framework for applying Assembly Theory (AT) to planetary atmospheres as a biosignature framework suitable for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). AT quantifies the minimum combinatorial complexity required to co-construct an observed ensemble of molecular species, providing a measure of how much selection and evolution is encoded in a planetary atmosphere's chemical space, without assuming any specific biochemistry, kinetics nor metabolism. We outline some forthcoming results applying this framework and how it can be extended to population-level exoplanet studies, validated against existing spectroscopic data, and used to directly inform HWO instrumental requirements. Rather than imposing a binary alive/dead classification, AT-based atmospheric analysis would provide a continuous measure of planetary complexity, opening a path toward detecting life-as-we-don't-know-it. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_11086 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Searching for Life-As-We-Don't-Know-It: Mission-relevant Application of Assembly Theory for Exoplanet Life Detection Walker, Sara Janin, Estelle Shkolnik, Evgenya Slocombe, Louie Cronin, Leroy Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Earth and Planetary Astrophysics This white paper introduces a framework for applying Assembly Theory (AT) to planetary atmospheres as a biosignature framework suitable for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). AT quantifies the minimum combinatorial complexity required to co-construct an observed ensemble of molecular species, providing a measure of how much selection and evolution is encoded in a planetary atmosphere's chemical space, without assuming any specific biochemistry, kinetics nor metabolism. We outline some forthcoming results applying this framework and how it can be extended to population-level exoplanet studies, validated against existing spectroscopic data, and used to directly inform HWO instrumental requirements. Rather than imposing a binary alive/dead classification, AT-based atmospheric analysis would provide a continuous measure of planetary complexity, opening a path toward detecting life-as-we-don't-know-it. |
| title | Searching for Life-As-We-Don't-Know-It: Mission-relevant Application of Assembly Theory for Exoplanet Life Detection |
| topic | Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Earth and Planetary Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.11086 |