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Thermodynamic selection: The role of entropy waste elimination in evolution

Enno Wein1, Arik Avagyan2,*, and David B. Saakian2,3,†

  • 1Instigate Academy, Tsarav Aghbyur 134/1, Yerevan 0052, Armenia
  • 2A.I. Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute) Foundation, 2 Alikhanian Brothers St., Yerevan 375036, Armenia
  • 3Marchuk Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia

  • *Contact author: arav2492@colorado.edu
  • †Contact author: saakian@yerphi.am
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Phys. Rev. E 112, 054402 – Published 3 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vzwb-1fp3

Abstract

Evolution is often viewed as a competition among agents for resources, effectively the harnessing of negative entropy or free energy in nonequilibrium states. In this work, we examine how constraints on entropic waste elimination shape evolutionary outcomes and affect the choices made by competing agents. We build on the Babajanyan–Koonin–Allahverdyan model that represents agents as heat engines in a game-theoretic setting. We introduce a constraint on the system's total cooling rate, arising from its interaction with a low-temperature heat bath that represents the system's elimination of entropic waste. We show that imposing such a constraint modifies the Nash equilibrium solutions of the game. We identify scenarios where the cap on the combined waste-removal drives the agents toward different optimal strategies than in the unconstrained case.

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Information

Phys. Rev. E 112, 054402– Published 3 November, 2025
  • Received 23 February 2025
  • Accepted 11 September 2025
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