Life in the Cosmos

Preface
- 1. Some Intrinsic Properties of Life
  - 1.1. Defining life: Does it matter?
  - 1.2. The requirements for life
  - 1.3. The Anna Karenina principle
I. The Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth
- 2. The Pathways to the Origin of Life on Earth
  - 2.1. When did life originate on Earth?
  - 2.2. The basic building blocks of life
  - 2.3. Synthesis of the basic building blocks of life
  - 2.4. The polymerization of monomers
  - 2.5. The RNA world
  - 2.6. Did metabolism arise first?
  - 2.7. What are the plausible sites for abiogenesis?
  - 2.8. Mathematical models relating to the origin of life
  - 2.9. Conclusion
- 3. The Evolutionary History of Life on Earth
  - 3.1. The origin of life
  - 3.2. The diversification of bacteria and archaea
  - 3.3. Oxygenic photosynthesis
  - 3.4. The rise of oyxgen and the Great Oxygenation Event
  - 3.5. Eukaryotes
  - 3.6. Complex multicellularity
  - 3.7. Intelligence in animals
  - 3.8. Technological intelligence
  - 3.9. Paradigms for major evolutionary events
  - 3.10. The critical steps model
  - 3.11. Conclusion
II. Aspects of Extraterrestrial Biospheres
- 4. Habitability: Stellar Factors
  - 4.1. The habitable zone and its extensions
  - 4.2. Stellar winds
  - 4.3. Stellar electromagnetic radiation
  - 4.4. Stellar flares and associated space weather phenomena
  - 4.5. Conclusion
- 5. Habitability: Planetary Factors
  - 5.1. The myriad roles of temperature
  - 5.2. Plate tectonics and habitability
  - 5.3. Tidal locking and its consequences
  - 5.4. Atmospheric composition
  - 5.5. The extent of landmasses and oceans on the surface
  - 5.6. The distribution of landmasses and oceans
  - 5.7. Life in the atmosphere
  - 5.8. Conclusion
- 6. The Quest for Biosignatures
  - 6.1. Transiting planets
  - 6.2. Non-transiting planets
  - 6.3. Alternative observational constraints on habitability
  - 6.4. Gaseous biosignatures
  - 6.5. Surface biosignatures
  - 6.6. Temporal biosignatures
  - 6.7. False positives versus real biosignatures
  - 6.8. Assessing the plausibility of life detection
  - 6.9. Conclusion
- 7. Life in Subsurface Oceans
  - 7.1. Worlds with subsurface oceans within our solar system
  - 7.2. Temperature profiles of the ice envelopes
  - 7.3. The habitats for subsurface ocean worlds
  - 7.4. The routes to abiogenesis on subsurface ocean worlds
  - 7.5. Ecosystems in planets with subsurface oceans
  - 7.6. Bioessential elements and subsurface ocean worlds
  - 7.7. Evolutionary trajectories on subsurface ocean worlds
  - 7.8. Number of subsurface ocean worlds and the implications for detection
  - 7.9. Conclusion
III. Aspects of Extraterrestrial Technospheres
- 8. The Drake Equation and Fermi’s Paradox
  - 8.1. The Drake equation
  - 8.2. The great silence: Where is everybody?
  - 8.3. Conclusion
- 9. The Quest for Technosignatures
  - 9.1. Radio technosignatures
  - 9.2. Optical and infrared technosignatures
  - 9.3. Modality of interstellar signaling
  - 9.4. On the classification of technological agents
  - 9.5. Artifact technosignatures
  - 9.6. The relative prospects for detecting ETIs
  - 9.7. Conclusion
- 10. The Propagation of Life in the Universe
  - 10.1. History and principles of panspermia
  - 10.2. Interplanetary and interstellar panspermia
  - 10.3. Seeking potential signatures of panspermia
  - 10.4. Interstellar travel via rockets
  - 10.5. Interstellar travel without onboard fuel
  - 10.6. Conclusion
Epilogue: Sic Itur Ad Astra
References
Acknowlegments
Index

From Biosignatures to Technosignatures

Manasvi Lingam

Avi Loeb

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