Finite-Horizon Freedom Maximization in Constrained Directed Acyclic Graph Growth

Version 2 of the manuscript. This version contains revisions and clarifications followinginternal review and has been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Changes include:• explicit constraint formulation• improved theoretical exposition• expanded simulations• revised section structure Abstract Directed acyclic growth processes arise in many combinatorial and stochastic systems where structural constraints limit admissible extensions. We investigate a growth rule based on a finite-horizon Principle of Maximal Freedom (PMF), under which admissible extensions are evaluated according to the number of admissible growth trajectories they permit over a fixed horizon. Using Monte Carlo simulations of constrained…