Abstract

The origin of life is commonly treated as a biochemical anomaly or as the result of a rare coincidence of favorable conditions. In this work, a fundamentally different framework is proposed, in which life is defined as a stable nonequilibrium phase state of matter. Within this approach, the emergence of life is understood not as a singular chemical event, but as a phase transition driven by extreme entropy production and subsequent negentropic self-organization. It is argued that the decisive physical environment for this transition is the nanodust phase formed at the interface between planetary matter and interplanetary space under conditions of mega-impacts, intense meteoritic bombardment, and accompanying cosmic ionizing radiation. These processes lead to catastrophic fragmentation of macroscopic crystalline structures, plasma formation, aerosol condensation, and continuous traversal of matter across a broad spectrum of phase states. A central role is assigned to proton invasion, which acts as a global entropic factor producing persistent deviation from equilibrium. Life is interpreted as a stabilizing response of matter to proton overload, realized through partial proton assimilation, sustained energy dissipation, and the formation of stable nonequilibrium regimes. Both first-order and second-order phase transitions are essential: the former provide repeated structural restructuring, while the latter enable symmetry breaking, collective behavior, chirality, and self-organization. In contrast to local terrestrial scenarios restricted to narrow physical conditions, the nanodust scenario spans an exceptionally wide phase-space—from plasma to solid and liquid-crystalline phases, and from temperatures of millions of degrees to cryogenic conditions. This breadth makes the phase transition toward living matter statistically expected rather than exceptional.