Lecture Notes in Physics

Opening remarks.- The creation of free energy.- Particulate disks around main sequence stars.- Bursts of star formation in the local galactic disk and their implications for the origin and evolution of life around the sun and nearby stars.- Testing theories of star formation.- Towards an estimate of the fration of stars with planets from velocities of high precision.- On the feasibility of extra-solar planetary detection at very low ratio frequencies.- The ESO microvariability Key Program and the detection of extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs.- A proposal for the search of extrasolar planets by occultation.- Near-term prospects for extra-solar planet detection: The astrometric imaging telescope.- A search for T-Tauri stars based on the IRAS Point Source Catalog.- How many single stars among solar-type stars?.- Habitable planetary orbits around ? centauri and other binaries.- The search for protostars.- The habitability of Mars-like planets around main sequence stars.- Planetary accretion debris and IR excesses in open stellar clusters.- Lithium abundances as a probe of the early evolution of solar-type stars.- Low-amplitude stellar velocity variations: Other possibilities.- Some recent developments in interstellar chemistry.- The formation of long chains of carbon atoms in space.- Hydrogen cyanide polymerization: A preferred cosmochemical pathway.- PAHs: Very abundant organic molecules in the interstellar medium.- Primitive evolution: Early information transfer and catalysis by purines.- The search for H2O in extraterrestrial environments.- Self-assembly properties of primitive organic compounds.- Cometary studies: Bioastronomical perspectives.- Origin of the biosphere of the earth.- Carbon-rich micrometeorites and prebiotic synthesis.- Titan's atmosphere probed by stellar occultation.- Study of transmitted light through Titans atmosphere.- UV radiation fields in dense clouds: Photochemical effects.- Prebiotic chemistry in planetary environments.- Terrestrial accretion of prebiotic volatiles and organic molecules during the heavy bombardment.- Geophysiology and habitable zones around sun-like stars.- Exobiological habitats: An overview.- Habitable zones for earth-like planets around main sequence stars.- Titan's atmosphere from voyager infrared observations: Parallels and differences with the primitive earth.- Liquid water and life on early mars.- New interpretation of crustal extension evidences on mars.- Martian paleohydrology and its implications for exobiology science.- Boundaries of the earth's biosphere.- The impact of technology on SETI.- RFI surveys at selected radio observatories.- A 1 Hz resolution RFI survey: Preliminary results.- The SERENDIP II SETI project: Observations and RFI analysis.- SETI: On the telescope and on the drawing board.- Project of ETI signal search at the wavelength 1.47 mm.- A SETI search technique: Monitor stars to which we have sent signals.- Radio search for alien space probes.- Karhunen-Loeve versus Fourier transform for SETI.- On the strategy of SETI.- Pan-Galactic puise periods and the pulse window for SETI.- Cosmic background radiation limits for SETI.- VLBI and interstellar scattering tests for SETI signals.- A test for the interstellar contact channel hypothesis in SETI.- The SETI program of the Planetary Society.- Trying to do science using high spectral resolution SETI prototypes.- The summit of the CBR at mm wavelengths and other queries.- The potential contribution of the northern cross radiotelescope to the SETI program.- A proposal for a SETI global network.- A search for Dyson spheres around late-type stars in the Iras catalog.- Gravitational, plasma, and black-hole lenses for interstellar communications.- SETI through the gamma-ray window: A search for interstellar spacecraft.- Criteria of artificiality in SETI.- The antecedents of consciousness: Evolving the "intelligent" ability to simulate situations and contemplate the consequences of novel courses of action.- Cognition in an African Grey parrot.- Archaeology in space: Encountering Alien Trash and other remains.- Biological constraints on interstellar travel.- A philosophical approach to the extraterrestrial life issue.- The intrinsic limit to the speed of innovation and its relevance for the question "where are they?".- SETI searches with the 70m SUFFA radio telescope.- Strategy of the mutual search for civilizations by means of probes.- Connections: Life on Earth and atoms in the Universe.- From the physical world to the biological universe: Historical developments underlying SETI.- A possible way for evolution of the intellect of intelligent beings.- SETI as a science.- May there be an ultimate goal to the cosmic evolution?.- Evolutionary approach to the SETI problem.- Peace among the factions: Cooling tempers in the extraterrestrial life debate.- The likely organizational order of advanced intelligences.- The role of comprehensive perception in tradition.- Technical evolution and positive feedback.- Contact paranoia and pronoia: An anthropologist looks at SETI.- The declaration of principles for activities following the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence.- The consequences of contact: Views of the scientific community and the science media.- Selection criteria in bioastronomy: Excerpts from a panel discussion.- Summary of scientific content of the symposium.