Prebiotic Geochemical Automata at the Intersection of Radiolytic Chemistry, Physical Complexity, and Systems Biology

Table 2

The proposed hierarchy of nested objects relevant to comprehensive consideration of prebiotic evolution experiments.

Level	Name	Objects	Properties
11	Consortia	Groups of cells	Cellular ecology
10	Cellular life	Individual cells	Darwinian evolution: vertical inheritance (reproduction), genetic and physiological variation, encapsulated autonomy
9	Hereditary compartments	Groups of polymers	Persistent, tractable identities based on diffusion-governed interactive behaviors
8	Polymer interaction networks	Polymers and molecules	Polymer catalysis and molecule-specific network feedback
7	Small polymers	Individual polymers (peptides, nucleotides, and phosphates)	Condensation reactions, nonspecific molecule coordination
6	Molecular thermodynamics	Groups of molecules	Heat capacity, diffusivity, convection, phase transitions
5	Molecular interaction networks	Groups of reactive molecules	Molecular interconversion, network feedback
4	Molecular dynamics	Individual molecules	Interatomic vibration and rotation, isomorphic states
3	Intramolecular bonds	Atoms and molecules	Valence electron movement, sharing, and displacement
2	Atomic	Individual atoms	Electron orbital structures, X-ray, and Cerenkov excitation and emission
1	Subatomic	Protons, neutrons, electrons, and so forth	Nuclear stability, fission/fusion, atomic interconversion, gamma ray emission