Life defies disorder, not just with molecules but with physics. We advance a substrate-independent, falsifiable criterion for life: a system is alive iff it sustains a positive rate of entropy resistance. Classically, R(t) = −S(t) > 0,...
moreLife defies disorder, not just with molecules but with physics. We advance a substrate-independent, falsifiable criterion for life: a system is alive iff it sustains a positive rate of entropy resistance.
Classically, R(t) = −S(t) > 0, and in the quantum–informational regime, Rq(t) :=−d/dtTr [ρ(t) ln ρ(t)] > 0, with S the (coarse-grained or Shannon) entropy and ρ a density matrix (von Neumann entropy). The law reframes life as persistent resistance to uncertainty rather than a checklist of Earth-centric traits (DNA, metabolism, reproduction). We connect the criterion to non-equilibrium thermodynamics (entropy balance, housekeeping vs. excess production, fluctuation theorems), control theory (Lyapunov functions, dissipativity, requisite variety), information thermodynamics (Landauer cost, Maxwell demons with feedback), and quantum open-system dynamics (CPTP maps, Spohn’s inequality, GKSL/Lindblad semigroups, resource theories of coherence, quantum error correction). We provide operational estimators for R and Rq from time series, demonstrate falsifiability on canonical counterexamples, and propose mission-ready measurement protocols for astrobiology, synthetic life, and coherent biomolecular complexes.
