Translation of a 1971 paper by Otto R\"ossler with added margin notes and a commentary

TL;DR

This paper offers a translated and annotated version of Otto R"ossler's 1971 work on autocatalysis, making it accessible to a broader scientific audience and highlighting its potential significance.

Contribution

It provides the first English translation of R"ossler's obscure 1971 paper on autocatalysis, with added notes and commentary to enhance understanding.

Findings

Reveals overlooked insights in R"ossler's original work

Highlights the importance of autocatalysis in complex systems

Encourages renewed interest in R"ossler's contributions

Abstract

Some time ago we came across a rather unknown and, in our opinion, intriguing paper by Otto R\"ossler on autocatalysis. That the paper is written in German might be one reason for having spent 50 years below the radar despite being of potential interest to many people in the field (as we found anecdotally). We felt it is time to translate it. We provide some margin notes and a commentary/introduction that has been solicited for a book project aimed at a general scientific audience.