The Nature of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) Through the Lens of GCST Global Complexity–Stability Theory as a Unified Framework for FRB Energetics, Spectral Features, and Multi-Messenger Signatures

Abstract Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration, extragalactic radio pulses with isotropic-equivalent energies of 10³⁹–10⁴³ erg, brightness temperatures T_b > 10³⁵ K, and a wide range of spectral and temporal behaviors including downward frequency drift (“sad trombone” effect) and both repeating and one-off sources. Global Complexity–Stability Theory (GCST) interprets FRBs as localized Rate-Induced Collapse (R-collapse) events: rapid transitions where the complexity growth rate α catastrophically exceeds local recovery capacity γ, forcing explosive release of accumulated structural debt D as coherent broadband radio emission. The core GCST stability condition is During an FRB, G drops below 0.1 on millisecond timescales → coherent radiation with extreme brightness. GCST naturally explains the downward frequency drift as propagation of the R-collapse front into lower-density regions, and predicts that single (catastrophic) FRBs may be accompanied by gravitational-wave bursts detectable by LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA — providing a potential “gold standard” multi-messenger signature.