Game Theory in Cosmology

TL;DR

This work reframes cosmology as a nonlocal, memory-driven game where history-dependent bias fields steer cosmic evolution. By introducing a maximum-caliber principle and a bias functional Φ, the authors derive a teleodynamic framework that yields emergent dark energy and dark matter effects without new particles, and naturally addresses the H0 and S8 tensions through homogeneous and inhomogeneous memory components. The approach links modified background expansion, scale-dependent growth, and horizon thermodynamics via a single bias-driven mechanism, predicting anisotropic halo signatures and distinctive velocity fields as observational tests. If borne out, Cosmological Teleodynamics would provide a statistically grounded, emergent alternative to the standard dark sector, tying cosmic acceleration and structure formation to the memory and structure of the cosmic web rather than to fundamental new fields.

Abstract

We present a game-theoretic statistical framework for cosmology, which we term \textit{Cosmological Teleodynamics}. We recast the dark sector, cosmic acceleration, large-scale structure, and cosmic tensions as emergent consequences of nonlocal memory and intrinsically persistent organization in a self-gravitating Universe. By introducing a maximum-caliber weight on cosmic histories and a bias functional encoding structural memory, we derive modified Friedmann, Boltzmann, and Poisson equations that naturally generate dark energy-like acceleration, dark matter-like clustering, and scale-dependent growth suppression. We also show how this approach can naturally help alleviate the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions, can produce anisotropic velocity fields, and predict environment-dependent halo signatures that cannot arise from particle dark matter or scalar-field dark energy. We also derive a generalized horizon entropy and temperature, revealing a nonequilibrium statistical origin for cosmic acceleration and formulating a Law of Universal Arbitrage Equilibrium that governs the evolution of the Universe, showing that it is expanding towards a continuous form of Nash equilibrium. Cosmological Teleodynamics therefore offers a unified, emergent, and testable alternative to the conventional dark sector, rooted not in new particles but in the intrinsic statistical and systemic structure of cosmic memory, and shows that the universe itself operates like a giant potential game.