Quantum Foundations in Energy-Efficiency Theory: From Probability Density to Measurement

We present a unified energy-ontological interpretation of non-relativistic quantum mechanics within the framework of Energy-Efficiency Theory (EET). Starting from three physically grounded axioms, we define the constrained potential U (r, t) as the spatial density of localized bound-state energy, and derive the continuity equation for the normalized constrained potential ρ (r, t) =U (r, t) /Ec. We prove that ρ (r, t) satisfies the quantum probability continuity equation, establishing the exact correspondence ρ (r, t) =|ψ|². We introduce the dimensionless energy ratio η = Ėᵣesp / Ėₘain, which quantifies the balance between energy allocated to spatial exploration (response) and constraint maintenance. From first principles, we derive a modified Schrödinger equation with a real effective potential that preserves probability conservation for all values of η. Using an exact analytical solution for Gaussian wave packets, we derive the scaling relations Δx ∝ η^-1/2 and Δp ∝ η^1/2, which imply the Heisenberg uncertainty principle ΔxΔp ≥ ħ/2 independent of η. Wave-particle duality is interpreted as the continuous sliding of η between exploration-dominated (wave-like, η>1) and maintenance-dominated (particle-like, η<1) regimes. We extend the framework to quantum measurement, deriving the scaling of η from first-principles system-apparatus energy coupling, and unify projective measurements, weak measurements, the quantum eraser, and decoherence within a single framework. We present four experimentally falsifiable predictions with strict statistical criteria, along with a protocol for independent experimental control of η. This work provides a self-consistent energy-ontological foundation for non-relativistic quantum mechanics, unifying probability density, wave-particle duality, the uncertainty principle, and quantum measurement under a single energy allocation framework.