Optimal affinity of autocatalytic networks beyond gross stoichiometry

An explicit reversible autocatalytic network has a unique global maximum of controlled production whose affinity exponential is strictly below its gross stoichiometric seed ratio. This refutes the proposed general lower bound. We identify a response-profile capacity that retains the missing kinetic information, analyze a literal recycling family approaching the source boundary and give a zero-diagonal counterexample. Under the stated rooted accessibility and response hypotheses, a local mass-action realization theorem makes the capacity sharp; an explicit power family supplies global maxima, while interacting cores delimit broader claims. The registered Lean project verifies the original refutation and checks the explicit witness against the literature conventions. Broader historical formal evidence and conventional arguments are distinguished in the manuscript and supporting claim map.