This preprint introduces an information–energetic thermodynamic framework for the analysis of irreversible decision-making processes in particle accelerators. Beyond beam dynamics itself, modern accelerator operation relies on real-time measurement, control, and event selection processes that are performed under finite energetic budgets and strict temporal constraints, and that inevitably involve information loss and dissipation. The work formulates these operational decisions as irreversible physical acts and proposes a unified description coupling energy expenditure, processed or discarded information, and decision time. Within this framework, commonly observed limits of trigger systems and real-time control architectures are interpreted as global information–energetic boundaries of the system, rather than as isolated technical constraints of individual subsystems. The formalism is deliberately presented as an effective, operational framework rather than as a universal microscopic law. An illustrative calculation of information loss in event selection is provided, together with a proposal for experimental verification based on measurable macroscopic quantities such as decision latency, energy dissipation, and selection performance. The results suggest that information–energetic thermodynamics may serve as a useful tool for analyzing and optimizing irreversible decision processes in particle accelerators and other systems of extreme experimental metrology.
Martin Petrasek (Tue,) studied this question.