Emergence of Persistent Information Structures in Pre-Biological Physical Systems

Understanding how biological organization arises remains one of the central open problems in science. Conventional models of abiogenesis typically assume that chemistry, genetics, and Darwinian evolution are necessary prerequisites for the emergence of information-bearing structure. In this work, we challenge that assumption by demonstrating that persistent, causally organized, information-bearing structures can emerge directly from physical dynamics alone. We present a controlled computational investigation of a strictly pre-biological physical system governed solely by fundamental interactions and non-equilibrium dynamics. The system explicitly excludes chemical bonding rules, genetic templates, replication mechanisms, selection algorithms, and fine-tuned parameters. Despite these constraints, the system spontaneously generates robust, self-stabilizing structures exhibiting high information density, dense causal feedback, long persistence times, and representation-independent organization. Comprehensive diagnostics—including information density metrics, causal feedback analysis, persistence measurements, and extensive control ensembles—demonstrate that the observed structures are not artefacts of noise, correlation, or numerical bias. Instead, they arise as natural consequences of physical self-organization under continuous energy flux. These findings support a multi-stage view of abiogenesis in which organized information emerges at the physical level prior to chemical embodiment and evolutionary refinement. By reframing chemistry as a carrier of pre-existing information rather than its origin, this work offers a new foundation for understanding the emergence of life, the physics of information, and the potential ubiquity of life-like precursors throughout the universe.