Living systems as coherent anharmonic oscillators

A model of living systems considered as coherent, time-dependent anharmonic oscillators is presented. It is based on the concept of space-like coherent states minimizing the time-energy uncertainty relation, adapted to the case of biological systems whose growth is described by the Gompertz or West-Brown-Enquist functions. The coherent states of biological growth evolve coherently in space being localized along the classical time trajectory; hence, the growth is predicted to be coherent in space. It is proven that the Gompertz function is a special solution of the space-like Horodecki-Feinberg equation for the time-dependent Morse oscillator in the dissociation state. Its eigenvalue represents the momentum of biological growth, associated with a space-like component whose properties resemble those attributed by vitalists to the life momentum or vital impulse. The physical characteristics of the life energy and momentum and their connection with the concept of zero-point momentum of vacuum are presented.