A Formal Physical Framework for the Origin of Life: Dissipation-Driven Selection of Evolving Replicators
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arXiv
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866914397910204416 |
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| author | Segal, Shlomo |
| author_facet | Segal, Shlomo |
| contents | The emergence of life from inanimate matter presents a thermodynamic challenge: the Second Law of Thermodynamics dictates a global trend towards disorder, yet life constitutes localized pockets of profound organization. This paper presents a formal physical framework for abiogenesis grounded in the statistical physics of non-equilibrium systems. We transition from the established connection between dissipation and process probability (e.g., Crooks Fluctuation Theorem) to a large-deviation framework for the likelihood of system histories. This formalism reveals a probabilistic bias towards histories with greater integrated dissipation. We then demonstrate how this bias leads to the selection of heredity. The core of our argument is a rigorous mathematical proposition showing that while simple autocatalysis leads to an exponential increase in dissipation, template-directed replication, via its capacity for mutation and adaptation (a process from which we derive an effective adaptation rate, alpha), unlocks a super-exponential growth pathway. This translates to a doubly-exponential amplification in the relative probability of its emergence over time, constituting an asymptotically dominant physical bias for its selection. This framework delineates a hierarchical transition from simple dissipative structures to information-bearing replicators, whose stability is contingent upon exceeding critical thresholds of fidelity, kinetic efficiency, and resource supply. We conclude by proposing a refined, quantitative, and falsifiable experiment, defining a precise mathematical signature for identifying the onset of evolutionary processes in synthetic chemical systems. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_15230 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Formal Physical Framework for the Origin of Life: Dissipation-Driven Selection of Evolving Replicators Segal, Shlomo Statistical Mechanics Biological Physics The emergence of life from inanimate matter presents a thermodynamic challenge: the Second Law of Thermodynamics dictates a global trend towards disorder, yet life constitutes localized pockets of profound organization. This paper presents a formal physical framework for abiogenesis grounded in the statistical physics of non-equilibrium systems. We transition from the established connection between dissipation and process probability (e.g., Crooks Fluctuation Theorem) to a large-deviation framework for the likelihood of system histories. This formalism reveals a probabilistic bias towards histories with greater integrated dissipation. We then demonstrate how this bias leads to the selection of heredity. The core of our argument is a rigorous mathematical proposition showing that while simple autocatalysis leads to an exponential increase in dissipation, template-directed replication, via its capacity for mutation and adaptation (a process from which we derive an effective adaptation rate, alpha), unlocks a super-exponential growth pathway. This translates to a doubly-exponential amplification in the relative probability of its emergence over time, constituting an asymptotically dominant physical bias for its selection. This framework delineates a hierarchical transition from simple dissipative structures to information-bearing replicators, whose stability is contingent upon exceeding critical thresholds of fidelity, kinetic efficiency, and resource supply. We conclude by proposing a refined, quantitative, and falsifiable experiment, defining a precise mathematical signature for identifying the onset of evolutionary processes in synthetic chemical systems. |
| title | A Formal Physical Framework for the Origin of Life: Dissipation-Driven Selection of Evolving Replicators |
| topic | Statistical Mechanics Biological Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.15230 |