DRAFT preprint. This manuscript is part of an active research programme and remains subject to revision, correction, and journal review. This paper proposes a game-theoretic interpretive framework for the Standard Model of particle physics, grounded in thermodynamic optimization principles. We explore the hypothesis that the observed particle content and coupling constants are consistent with a Nash equilibrium of a multi-scale thermodynamic game, where the payoff function is the integrated entropy production over cosmological timescales. A semi-analytic stellar model demonstrates that the observed fine-structure constant lies within a broad plateau of near-maximal integrated stellar entropy production (S/Sₘax = 0. 988), providing a first quantitative consistency check. Series position FST-I is the particles / thermodynamic stability companion (Level 1) of the FST application series. The programmatic umbrella is the FST Hub (Concept-DOI 10. 5281/zenodo. 20130499). Sibling application companions: FST-II Chemistry, FST-III Biology, FST-IV Cosmology. Code FST-IV is now the cosmological collector slot. GitHub source link added. Related Identifier: FST-DE reference relabelled to "FST-IV Cosmology / FST-DE". Version 1. 0 (May 2026) Initial release as part of the FST series. Status: ~8. 5/10 readiness per FST series audit; remaining open items for later versions: Polettini 2013 reference on MEPP critique, DE-EN sync, design polish.
Lukas Geiger (Fri,) studied this question.