Non-Linear Pressure Effects on the Origin of Life and the Matter World Hypothesis in Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents: Stochastic Simulations of Prebiotic Chemistry

The "Matter World Hypothesis" (Hashemi, 2025a) posits that life emerged from a co-evolutionary network of diverse prebiotic matter under environmental stressors, with deep-sea hydrothermal vents (100–1000 atm, 50–150°C) as a key setting. This study explores non-linear pressure effects on the origin of life within this framework using Gillespie-based stochastic simulations. Activation volumes (ΔV‡ = -21 cm³/mol for RNA, -16 cm³/mol for DNA) were refined from international data. Simulations tested RNA and DNA polymerization across pressures (100–1000 atm), temperatures (50–150°C), pH (6–8), catalysts (montmorillonite, FeS, NiS), and an enucleated oocyte scenario. At 1000 atm, the refined non-linear pressure model predicts a 2.7-fold RNA rate increase (chain lengths: 21 ± 4 nt) and 2.5-fold DNA increase (16 ± 3 nt), with R² = 0.925–0.965, consistent with prior validations (Hashemi, 2025b). Entropy (2.10–2.50 bits) and mutual information (MI: 0.40–0.70 bits) reflect heightened complexity, though degradation at 150°C reaches 30–40% (RNA) and 20–25% (DNA). The enucleated oocyte yields only 5 ± 1 nt, underscoring open systems’ advantage in vents. These findings integrate non-linear pressure effects into the Matter World Hypothesis, reinforcing hydrothermal vents as a cradle of life.