May 15 – 17, 2026
College of Hakka Studies at NYCU, Zhubei, Hsinchu County 國立陽明交通大學客家學院(竹北六家校區)
Asia/Taipei timezone

Galactic Mergers as a Universal‑Scale Astrophysical Resolution of the Fermi Paradox

May 16, 2026, 3:00 PM
15m
HK105

HK105

Oral Galaxies

Speaker

Mr Deriyan Senjaya (Department of Physics NTHU Taiwan)

Description

The Fermi Paradox poses a fundamental question: why, given the immense age and scale of the Universe, have we not observed evidence of advanced civilizations beyond our own? Explanations range from sociological ideas such as the zoo hypothesis to the possibility that advanced civilizations are inherently undetectable. An alternative line of inquiry emphasizes astrophysical causes. Previous studies have shown that hazardous astrophysical events—including asteroids, supernovae (SNe), and giant molecular clouds (GMCs)—can eradicate advanced civilizations within the Milky Way (MW). Among these, asteroids appear to be the most decisive factor. This raises a deeper issue: could civilizations have disappeared even before the MW itself was assembled? The early universe was shaped by frequent galactic mergers, in which smaller systems combined to form larger structures, including our own Galaxy. To investigate this scenario, we simulated the migration and potential extinction of advanced civilizations during a major galactic merger. As a representative case, we examined the predicted future collision between the MW and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Preliminary results indicate that such mergers may lead to partial extinction events, driven primarily by the elevated rate of SNe formation. These findings strengthen astrophysical interpretations of the Fermi Paradox, suggesting that the absence of detectable civilizations may be explained by the destructive influence of large‑scale galactic dynamics. In this framework, the absence of observable civilizations is interpreted as a consequence of the inherent fragility of life when subjected to destructive astrophysical events.

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Author

Mr Deriyan Senjaya (Department of Physics NTHU Taiwan)

Co-authors

Prof. Tomotsugu Goto (Institute of Astronomy NTHU) Prof. Tetsuya Hashimoto (Department of Physics NCHU Taiwan) Dr Shotaro Yamasaki (Department of Physics NCHU Taiwan) Dr Tomoki Wada (Department of Physics NCHU Taiwan) Mr Terry Long Phan (Institute of Astronomy NTHU) Dr Seong Jin Kim (Institute of Astronomy NTHU) Mr Amos Y.-A. Chen (Department of Physics NTHU Taiwan) Dr Yuri Uno (Department of Physics NCHU Taiwan) Dr Sridhar Gajendran (Institute of Astronomy NTHU)

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