Exomorphic Catalysis: Activation Topology and Persistence Metrics in Driven Matter

Life, in its broadest sense, is the persistence of organization in the presence of dissipation. Exomorphic Catalysis (ExoCat) introduces a quantitative framework for persistence as a physical threshold, not a biological anomaly. By defining the exomorphic Damköhler number—Daexo=Ψh(1+H∗)Pr\mathrm{Da}_{\mathrm{exo}} = \Psi h (1+\mathcal{H}^\ast) P_rDaexo=Ψh(1+H∗)Pr—this work identifies the energetic condition under which driven matter becomes self-sustaining. The paper unifies dissipative structures, autocatalysis, and active matter within a substrate-independent topology of feedback and memory, establishing the theoretical foundation for a general physics of life-potential.