Journal of Astrobiology & Outreach

Abstract

Survivability of Photosynthetic Bacteria in Non-Terrestrial Light

Johnson NF, Manrique PD, Mendoza AD, Caycedo FD, RodrIiguez F and Quiroga L

We explore whether a basic process of Life on Earth. Bacterial photosynthesis can in principle survive under alien light conditions defined by abnormal temporal correlations in the incident photon absorption times. Though unlike radiation from our own Sun, such extreme photon statistics have already been demonstrated under laboratory conditions and hence are allowed by the laws of physics. Our analysis exploits a detailed membrane model of the bacterial photosynthetic system Rs. Photometricum using state-of-the-art empirical inputs. Our results show that a broad range of extreme light conditions including those far beyond terrestrial sunlight do indeed support the metabolic needs of the terrestrial bacteria.