Universal Boundary-Mediated Flux-Driven Growth in Natural Open Systems

This paper develops a universal framework for growth in natural open systems driven by gradients that produce flux across system boundaries. Across a wide range of physical and biological systems, structure accumulates through the transport of matter or energy across boundaries separating the system from its environment. Because exchange occursthrough surfaces rather than throughout the interior, geometric boundary constraints play a fundamental role in determining growth dynamics. When combined with transport processes that amplify flux to the boundary, these constraints lead to a general scaling law for the rate of mass accumulation.