Abiogenesis and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Abstract

Abiogenesis, life arising from non-living matter, is reconsidered. A historic account is given from Darwin to the present with special consideration of the incipient relationship between quantum theory and life processes. Recent ideas relating to the spontaneous emergence of life are considered and evaluated, including the work on self-organizing systems by Ilya Prigogine and the Brussels-Austin School. The second law is commensurate with chemical evolution, but is incapable of explaining the mechanism behind the selection of specific polymers from an infinitude of molecular specimens. We attest abiogenetic life processes originating from a quantum chemical material world. A Gibbs free energy formulation is derived ab initio conceding non-equilibrium evolutions and open system self-organization. Correlated Dissipative Structures, CDS, combine quantum-thermal correlations at precise temperatures commensurate with their adaptive time scales, constituting CDE, a Correlated Dissipative Ensemble. The theory suggests an objective communication principle reminding of a Call-Centre-Poisson point process. The self-referential structure applies directly to biological systems, suggesting a fundamental quantum-chemistry life-principle incorporating evolution of the whole biosphere without contradicting the objectivity of physical laws.