Game Theory in Cosmology

Abstract

We present a game-theoretic statistical framework for cosmology, which we term \textit{Cosmological Teleodynamics}. We recast the dark sector, cosmic acceleration, large-scale structure, and cosmic tensions as emergent consequences of nonlocal memory and intrinsically persistent organization in a self-gravitating Universe. By introducing a maximum-caliber weight on cosmic histories and a bias functional encoding structural memory, we derive modified Friedmann, Boltzmann, and Poisson equations that naturally generate dark energy-like acceleration, dark matter-like clustering, and scale-dependent growth suppression. We also show how this approach can naturally help alleviate the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions, can produce anisotropic velocity fields, and predict environment-dependent halo signatures that cannot arise from particle dark matter or scalar-field dark energy. We also derive a generalized horizon entropy and temperature, revealing a nonequilibrium statistical origin for cosmic acceleration and formulating a Law of Universal Arbitrage Equilibrium that governs the evolution of the Universe, showing that it is expanding towards a continuous form of Nash equilibrium. Cosmological Teleodynamics therefore offers a unified, emergent, and testable alternative to the conventional dark sector, rooted not in new particles but in the intrinsic statistical and systemic structure of cosmic memory, and shows that the universe itself operates like a giant potential game.