The Homeostatic Thermodynamic Quarantine Hypothesis (HCTH)
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The Homeostatic Thermodynamic Quarantine Hypothesis (HCTH): A Preliminary Theoretical Framework for the Thermodynamic, Causal, and Temporal Isolation of Technological Civilizations The Fermi Paradox highlights the apparent discrepancy between the high potential abundance of habitable environments in the observable universe and the absence of confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial technological civilizations. This paper formalizes the Homeostatic Thermodynamic Quarantine Hypothesis (HCTH), a preliminary theoretical framework exploring whether the combined effects of planetary waste-heat constraints, cosmological causal horizons, and stochastic temporal asynchrony could significantly reduce the probability of interaction and observable coexistence between technological civilizations. The framework integrates three principal mechanisms: (1) planetary thermodynamic constraints associated with the dissipation of technological waste heat and radiative equilibrium; (2) causal limitations arising from the expansion of the universe, described within the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker (FLRW) cosmological framework; and (3) stochastic temporal distributions governing the emergence, duration, and potential overlap of technological civilizations. The HCTH proposes that these mechanisms may operate jointly as structural constraints on the spatial expansion, temporal persistence, and mutual detectability of technological civilizations. Their combined implications are explored through analytical formulations and a preliminary computational modeling framework. Rather than presenting universal cosmic isolation as an established physical outcome, this work introduces a testable theoretical proposal whose assumptions, mathematical formulation, and observational implications require further investigation, numerical validation, and empirical assessment. The hypothesis aims to contribute an interdisciplinary perspective to the Fermi Paradox by examining whether fundamental physical and statistical constraints may provide a non-anthropocentric explanation for the apparent absence of observable extraterrestrial technological activity.
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225806534
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