The Shadow Hypothesis: Informational Exclusion as the Driver of Abiogenesis

The Shadow Hypothesis: Informational Exclusion as the Driver of Abiogenesis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Shadow Hypothesis: Informational Exclusion as the Driver of Abiogenesis Syed Hassan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7603642/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The origin of life remains a profound scientific mystery. Traditional models emphasize constructive processes-autocatalysis, compartmentalization, and polymerization-where new structures emerge and persist. The Shadow Hypothesis reframes abiogenesis as driven by exclusion, where feedback-induced reductions in accessible chemical state space, termed “shadows,” shape trajectories toward persistence and organization. Shadows are persistent, feedback-reinforced exclusions, distinct from transient kinetic bottlenecks, and leave measurable signatures in redundancy and causal emergence. We formalize this using information-theoretic and dynamical systems tools, deriving the critical shadow threshold θc ≈ ε / [H(t)(λ − η)]from a chemical Master equation via stochastic differential equation (SDE) approximations , robust to chaotic prebiotic conditions. This revision enhances stability analysis, scales simulations to realistic state spaces, and integrates peer-reviewed informational phase transitions [Wong, 2025]. Falsifiable tests via microfluidics and JWST proxies are proposed, including entropy mapping and spectroscopic detection. Shadows bridge constructive and exclusionary perspectives, providing a quantitative, predictive framework for abiogenesis. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7603642","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":515660766,"identity":"549a76b9-a06f-458a-b9a7-69cf7baeea09","order_by":0,"name":"Syed Hassan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAygtw8DAfPzDxz82DAwSRGrhYWBgS2Oc2ZBGkhYeNWbOhsOEtZizH3/84ecOOx7+aWfYHjPuOJ/YP7v54AOGGptoXFose3LMJHvPJPNI3M49blx45nbijDvHkg0YjqXlNuBy2IEcNgbeNmYehtt5CdIz2G4nNtzIMZNgbDiMW8v5548//m2r55G/nWMgzcN2LnE+QS03EgykedsO8xjczjEDMg4kbiCs5Y2ZtGzbcR7D22nJhjPOJBtvvJGWbJCAzy/n0x9/fNtWLSd3O/nggw8VdrLzboAYNTY4tWAAR7DKBGKVg4A9KYpHwSgYBaNgZAAAp5RjBYdirs8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"COMSATS University Islamabad","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Syed","middleName":"","lastName":"Hassan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-12 22:23:13","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7603642/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7603642/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":98625399,"identity":"ad51a424-6164-45be-8117-ea815d52e70c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-19 17:09:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":726815,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TheShadowHypothesisInformationalExclusionastheDriverofAbiogenesis.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7603642/v1_covered_1f1909e4-7e74-4b7f-9c9a-998c9c8fdb18.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Shadow Hypothesis: Informational Exclusion as the Driver of Abiogenesis","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7603642/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7603642/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe origin of life remains a profound scientific mystery. Traditional models emphasize constructive processes-autocatalysis, compartmentalization, and polymerization-where new structures emerge and persist. The Shadow Hypothesis reframes abiogenesis as driven by exclusion, where feedback-induced reductions in accessible chemical state space, termed “shadows,” shape trajectories toward persistence and organization. Shadows are persistent, feedback-reinforced exclusions, distinct from transient kinetic bottlenecks, and leave measurable signatures in redundancy and causal emergence. We formalize this using information-theoretic and dynamical systems tools, deriving the critical shadow threshold θc ≈ ε / [H(t)(λ − η)]from a chemical Master equation via stochastic differential equation (SDE) approximations , robust to chaotic prebiotic conditions. This revision enhances stability analysis, scales simulations to realistic state spaces, and integrates peer-reviewed informational phase transitions [Wong, 2025]. 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