Entropy as First Principle: Deriving Quantum and Gravitational Structure from Thermodynamic Geometry

This paper introduces the Total Entropic Quantity (TEQ) framework, a structural reformulation of quantum theory grounded in two foundational axioms. Axiom 0 posits entropy as a generative constraint: a geometric principle that determines which configurations can stably distinguish themselves, independent of space, time, or dynamics. Here, entropy is defined as a curvature-functional over distinguishability configurations, preserving only those patterns that remain stable under finite informational resolution---that is, structures not dissolved by coarse-graining or limited observability. Axiom 1, the Minimal Principle (MP), selects from these structures those that are maximally stable under entropy-weighted variation. From this entropic foundation, core elements of quantum theory---including the Born rule, quantization, and Schrödinger dynamics---emerge as special cases of entropy-stabilized geometry. The framework derives an entropy-weighted path integral and introduces a corrected Schrödinger equation that governs evolution in regimes of finite entropy curvature. In the high-resolution limit (\( \beta \to \infty \)), TEQ reduces to standard unitary quantum mechanics; in more general regimes, entropy flow deforms canonical dynamics, linking decoherence, dissipation, and gravitational curvature. TEQ reinterprets physical law as emergent structure within the geometry of distinguishability, rather than as imposed dynamics on a fixed spacetime background.