Researchers Propose Galactic Empires May Reside in Core of Milky Way

Scientists have long pondered the question posed by physicist Enrico Fermi: “Where is everybody?” This inquiry, known as Fermi’s Paradox, seeks to understand why, despite the vastness of the universe, humanity has yet to encounter signs of extraterrestrial life. In a recent study, researchers from the Central European Institute for Cosmology and Fundamental Physics have introduced a thought-provoking hypothesis—they suggest that advanced civilizations may inhabit the galactic core of the Milky Way, which could explain our silence from the cosmos.

For over fifty years, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has faced challenges, including limited funding and resources. The assumptions underpinning Fermi’s Paradox, primarily articulated by Michael Hart and Frank Tipler, posit that advanced civilizations inevitably expand beyond their home planets. Yet, many experts dispute this view, emphasizing the formidable challenges of establishing extraterrestrial colonies in unfamiliar environments.

In their new paper titled “Redshifted civilizations, galactic empires, and the Fermi Paradox,” independent researcher Chris Reiss and postdoctoral researcher Justin C. Feng explore scenarios where civilizations could thrive in a relativistic universe. They argue that the principles of General Relativity, along with insights from the Kardashev Scale, support the idea of a Type II Civilization flourishing near a supermassive black hole, such as Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the heart of our galaxy.

The Milky Way is home to an estimated 100 to 200 billion stars, with more than two trillion galaxies in the observable universe. This immense scale suggests that life may have arisen elsewhere. The universe’s age of 13.8 billion years implies that numerous civilizations could have emerged, yet we have found little evidence of their existence.

According to the Hart-Tipler conjecture, an advanced civilization capable of interstellar travel and communication could colonize the galaxy within a mere 650,000 to 2 million years. The absence of contact has led some, like Hart and Tipler, to conclude that such civilizations do not exist. However, as the renowned astrophysicist Carl Sagan famously stated, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

The assumptions made by Hart and Tipler have come under scrutiny. They suggested that once civilizations establish colonies, these footholds would persist for millennia. This viewpoint contrasts with the insights of Frank Drake, creator of the Drake Equation, which outlines the complexities of estimating the number of communicative civilizations in our galaxy.

Dr. Rebecca Charbonneau, a science historian and Jansky Fellow at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, emphasizes that the variable L, representing the lifespan of civilizations capable of communication, is critical. In a lecture at the 2023 Penn State SETI Symposium, she noted that historical events, like the development of nuclear weapons, have profoundly influenced our understanding of SETI.

The challenges of faster-than-light travel remain significant. According to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, as objects approach light speed, their mass increases, requiring exponentially more energy to accelerate. Current propulsion concepts, such as nuclear pulse propulsion and antimatter annihilation, face substantial limitations in practicality and resource requirements.

Reiss and Feng highlight the implications of relativistic travel on the Fermi Paradox. They illustrate that a vessel traveling at 20% the speed of light to the nearest star system, Proxima Centauri, would take at least 42.5 years to complete a round trip, while only about ten years would pass for the passengers on board. This leads to the “Twin Paradox,” where time dilation affects the experience of time for travelers versus those remaining on Earth.

To resolve the separation problem, Reiss and Feng propose that civilizations could migrate to a time-dilated frame, such as an orbit around a supermassive black hole. Living in this environment would allow civilizations to witness the universe’s evolution at an accelerated pace while benefiting from a slower passage of time.

In their study, they examined various red-frame environments, concluding that an orbit around a supermassive black hole would be the most advantageous for a civilization seeking to maximize its exploratory capabilities. This scenario aligns with the Dark Forest Hypothesis, which suggests that advanced civilizations may remain undetectable to ensure their survival in a universe where resources are finite and competition is inevitable.

The researchers also suggest that civilizations at the galactic core might opt to eliminate potential competitors outside their red frame. This raises the possibility of conflict among civilizations, which could produce detectable signals.

During a presentation at the 9th Interstellar Symposium on October 15, 2023, Reiss and Feng discussed how vessels near a supermassive black hole would need to counteract drag from accreting gas. They proposed that the energy required to maintain such vessels could be significant, potentially emitting signals detectable from Earth.

The findings from Reiss and Feng’s research open avenues for further studies and SETI surveys, offering a potential resolution to Fermi’s Paradox. Their work invites a renewed exploration of the cosmos, where the possibility of galactic empires residing within the core of the Milky Way could illuminate our understanding of extraterrestrial life.