We propose a Quantum Causal Entropy (QCE) framework in which microscopic entropy increments associated with individual causal links modify the Feynman path amplitude through an exponential weighting factor exp(−SΓ). This entropy-weighted path integral provides a dynamical mechanism for wave–particle duality and interference suppression. The entropy contrast parameter is generalized to multi-path systems, and the Born-rule structure emerges in the regime of distinguishable outcomes. We show that environmental decoherence appears as the macroscopic limit of cumulative causal entropy growth. Aquantitative prediction for thermally asymmetric interference experiments is derived.
We propose a Quantum Causal Entropy (QCE) framework in which microscopic entropy increments associated with individual causal links modify the Feynman path amplitude through an exponential weighting factor exp(−SΓ). This entropy-weighted path integral provides a dynamical mechanism for wave–particle duality and interference suppression. The entropy contrast parameter is generalized to multi-path systems, and the Born-rule structure emerges in the regime of distinguishable outcomes. We show that environmental decoherence appears as the macroscopic limit of cumulative causal entropy growth. Aquantitative prediction for thermally asymmetric interference experiments is derived.
Decoherence is widely regarded as the physical mechanism responsible for the transition from quantum interference to classical localization . While the standard frameworksuccessfully describes environment-induced decoherence using density-matrix evolution,it does not identify a microscopic causal quantity that determines how interference suppression depends on thermodynamic conditions. In this work, we propose that decoherence can be understood as an entropy-drivenprocess arising from competition among microscopic causal paths. Within the QuantumCausal Entropy (QCE) framework, quantum amplitudes are modified by an entropyweighted causal rule, Ψ→eiθℓ−∆SℓΨ,leading to a path-amplitude formulation A[Γ] = exp(iΘΓ −SΓ).From this formulation, interference visibility is shown to depend exponentially on theentropy contrast between competing paths, producing experimentally testable predictions for thermal, material, and measurement environment dependence of interferencepatterns. We present concrete experimental proposals in which interference visibility changescan be measured without modifying phase geometry, allowing a direct test distinguishing entropy-driven decoherence from conventional models. These results suggest thatentropy flow plays a fundamental role in quantum measurement dynamics and coherence loss.
Standard quantum mechanics describes the evolution of physical systems through unitary Schr¨odinger dynamics, while decoherence and wavefunction collapse are introduced through additional postulates or environmental interactions. Although highly successful operationally, the theory does not provide a fundamental dynamical mechanism explaining the emergence of classical localization from microscopic evolution. n this work we propose an entropy-weighted causal dynamics framework, referred to as Quantum Causal Entropy (QCE), in which each microscopic causal transition contributes both a phase increment and an entropy cost. Starting from a local causal update rule, Ψ → eiθℓ−∆SℓΨ, we derive a modified evolution equation in which the standard Hamiltonian generator is supplemented by an entropy-production operator. The resulting entropy-corrected Schr¨odinger equation takes the form iℏ dΨ dt =H − iℏλSˆΨ, where Sˆ represents the entropy rate associated with microscopic causal processes and λ is an entropy coupling constant. We show that the standard unitary Schr¨odinger evolution is recovered in the limit of vanishing entropy coupling, while finite entropy production leads naturally to decoherence, interference suppression, and effective measurement localization without invoking an explicit collapse postulate. A corresponding density-matrix evolution equation is derived, providing a thermodynamic description of coherence decay. The framework therefore provides a dynamical link between quantum evolution, information entropy, and emergent classicality, and suggests experimentally testable corrections to coherence behavior in controlled quantum systems
The quantum measurement problem arises from the coexistence of continuousunitary evolution governed by the Schrödinger equation and the apparentnon-unitary collapse of the wavefunction during measurement. Althoughdecoherence theory explains the suppression of interference throughenvironmental interactions, it does not by itself provide a physicalselection mechanism determining the realized outcome. In this work wepresent a dynamical resolution of the measurement problem within theQuantum Causal Entropy (QCE) framework, in which quantum evolution isgoverned by entropy-weighted causal transitions. Measurement interactionsintroduce path-dependent entropy injection that exponentially suppresseshigher-entropy causal branches, producing a continuous entropy-drivenselection of a dominant outcome without invoking an external projectionpostulate. The framework reproduces the Born-rule probabilities in thelow-entropy limit and predicts experimentally testable deviations inregimes involving large-scale entangled states and entropy-controlledmeasurement environments. These results provide a causal-thermodynamicfoundation for quantum measurement dynamics and suggest new experimentalprobes of entropy-driven quantum state selection.
The dynamical structure of quantum mechanics is conventionally formulated through Hamiltoniandriven unitary evolution, while entropy is typically treated as a statistical descriptor associatedwith measurement outcomes or environmental interactions. In this work, we propose the QuantumCausal Entropy (QCE) framework, an entropy-driven extension of quantum dynamics in whichentropy-weighted causal operators contribute directly to the evolution of quantum states. The proposed formulation introduces an entropy-dependent correction to the dynamical generator whilepreserving Hermiticity, probability conservation, and the Hilbert-space structure of conventionalquantum theory. Within this approach, standard Schr¨odinger dynamics emerge as a limiting casecorresponding to vanishing entropy-coupling strength, ensuring consistency with established experimental results. The framework predicts entropy-dependent modifications to transition amplitudes, decoherence rates, and state-selection probabilities in systems exhibiting significant entropygradients in state space. Possible experimental signatures may arise in high-coherence quantumplatforms, including superconducting qubits, atomic interferometers, and quantum optical systems.By incorporating entropy as an explicit causal element of quantum evolution, the QCE formulation provides a unified information-theoretic perspective linking quantum dynamics, decoherenceprocesses, and entropy-driven information flow, offering a foundation for future theoretical andexperimental investigations of entropy-mediated quantum phenomena.
Wave–particle duality in interferometric systems is commonly formulated through complementarity relations linking fringe visibility and path distinguishability. In realistic experiments, interference suppression arises not only from unitary which-path marking but also from environment-induced decoherence. We derive an angle-dependent pure-dephasing model from a microscopic system–bath Hamiltonian, obtaining a Lindblad master equation with geometric coupling dependence. Moving beyond the Markovian limit, we utilize a second- order time-convolutionless (TCL2) expansion with a structured spectral density to show that geometric scaling persists in non-Markovian regimes, potentially leading to geometry-dependent coherence revivals. Furthermore, we explicitly derive the entropy production rate, demonstrating that the transition toward classicality is quantitatively governed by directional entropy flow. The framework remains fully within standard quantum mechanics, introducing no modifications to the Schr¨odinger equation. Experimental falsifiability criteria, including early-time scaling and coherence revivals, are presented.
We present a thermodynamic and causal foundation for quantum information and quantum computing based on the framework of Quantum Causal Entropy (QCE). In QCE, quantum evolution is governed by entropy-weighted causal links rather than purely unitary Hilbert-spaceoperators. This modification provides a microscopic physical origin for decoherence, measurement collapse, entanglement fragility, and quantum gate errors.We reinterpret qubits as bundles of entropy-degenerate causal paths, quantum gates as phasecontrol devices under entropy constraints, entanglement as shared causal–entropy structure, and quantum errors as localized entropy spikes. This perspective leads to new principles for quantum error correction, quantum circuit design, and hardware architecture based on entropymanagement.The framework yields experimentally testable predictions linking coherence time, gate fidelity, and entanglement stability to entropy production, geometry, and material properties of quantum devices. QCE thus bridges quantum information theory with physical thermodynamicsand offers a new pathway toward noise-resilient quantum computation.