We investigate whether the temporal spacing of major geological boundaries in the Phanerozoic eon (538.8 Ma to present) exhibits statistical signatures characteristic of random matrix ensembles. Using all 102 ICS 2023-standard stage-level boundaries (99 valid intervals), we compare their normalized spacing distribution against the Wigner surmise for GUE (β=2), GOE (β=1), and Poisson statistics via Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests, Anderson–Darling statistics, nearest-neighbor spacing ratios, higher-moment analysis, and bootstrap confidence intervals. Key findings: (1) Poisson is decisively rejected at p = 1.3 × 10⁻⁴ and with an 11.6σ deviation in the spacing ratio statistic; (2) the GOE model provides the best overall fit across all test statistics (KS D = 0.090, p = 0.38; A² = 1.18); (3) the GUE model, while close in spacing ratio (⟨r⟩ = 0.637, only 1.6σ from GUE theory), is marginally rejected by higher-order tests. As a control, we verify that the first 500 non-trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function conform precisely to GUE statistics. This repository contains analysis code (Python/SciPy), geological boundary data (ICS 2023), Riemann zeta zeros, publication-quality figures, and the manuscript in LaTeX and Word formats.
Ruqing Chen (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: