Substrate Survival Map: Physical Limits, Survival Boundaries, and Information Retention

This work defines the physical and thermodynamic limits governing the persistence, fracture, recovery, and terminal retention of integrated biological signals. Using a finite-memory stability integral, we identify a sharp survival boundary in constraint–noise parameter space, a temporal fracture limit (~32 ms), and frequency-dependent plastic deformation of the substrate. We introduce an Information Retention Rate (IRR) to quantify post-collapse residue encoded via hysteresis and plastic deformation. The results establish necessary physical conditions for sustained integration without invoking phenomenology, teleology, or evolutionary imperatives. Any theory of consciousness or integrated cognition must operate within these constraints.