On July 16, 2026, mathematician Professor Ginestra Bianconi published a paper in Physical Review D proposing a new quantum gravity theory. The framework, titled Gravity from Entropy (GfE), suggests that the universe’s emergence of complex structures like stars and life is consistent with the second law of thermodynamics.
Reconciling Cosmic Complexity With Thermodynamics
Modern physics has long grappled with an apparent contradiction: the second law of thermodynamics dictates that the entropy of an isolated system—and by extension, the universe—generally increases over time. Yet, since the early universe, matter has spontaneously organized into increasingly elaborate structures, including galaxies, stars, planets, and living organisms. This process represents a local decrease in disorder, a phenomenon that has historically challenged existing cosmological models.
Professor Ginestra Bianconi, a mathematician at Queen Mary University of London, proposes that the resolution lies in a distinction between total entropy and entropy density. While the universe’s total entropy continues to climb in compliance with the second law, the entropy packed into a fixed volume of space—the entropy per unit volume—actually decreases as the universe expands. According to phys.org, this drop in local density provides the thermodynamic “headroom” necessary for gravity to pull matter into clumps, allowing structure to emerge as a local expression of an expanding geometry.
Redefining Gravity as an Information Measure
The GfE framework departs from traditional interpretations of gravity as a fundamental force inherent in the universe’s architecture. Instead, Bianconi describes gravity as a form of “bookkeeping”—a tally of the mismatch between two distinct geometric descriptions of the same spacetime region. This approach builds upon the foundational work of Jacob Bekenstein and Stephen Hawking, who in the 1970s established that black holes possess entropy and emit thermal radiation, suggesting a deep connection between gravity, information, and heat.
In the GfE model, the gravitational Lagrangian—the mathematical function encoding spacetime dynamics—is defined by the Quantum Geometric Relative Entropy (QGRE) between two metrics: the actual spacetime metric and the metric induced by matter fields and curvature. When these metrics align, gravity vanishes. When they diverge, gravity emerges as a physical result of that geometric mismatch. This shifts the conceptual status of gravity from a field pulling masses together to an information-theoretic measure.
Emergence of the Cosmological Constant
The GfE theory produces distinct physical implications, particularly when moving beyond the weak-energy limit where its equations reduce to General Relativity. Bianconi introduces a new physical field, the G-field, which functions as a Lagrangian multiplier. This field suggests that the universe possesses an inherent thermal character and naturally generates a cosmological constant—a parameter famously introduced and later called his greatest blunder by Albert Einstein.
Researchers suggest this emergent constant could address persistent discrepancies in modern cosmology. According to Queen Mary University of London, the emergent cosmological constant predicted by our model could help resolve the discrepancy between theoretical predictions and experimental observations of the universe’s expansion.
Future Observational Prospects
While the Gravity from Entropy theory is in its early stages, it offers a pathway for testable predictions. By applying the framework to Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological spacetimes—models that describe a uniformly expanding universe—the theory suggests that local geometric components obey a version of the first law of thermodynamics. In this context, the emerging dark energy contribution acts as internal energy, while the QGRE represents the local entropy per unit volume.
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The divergence between GfE and General Relativity occurs under extreme conditions, such as high spacetime curvature and early cosmic times. Scientists are now looking to these regimes, as well as the precise behavior of dark energy, to determine if the G-field’s predictions align with emerging experimental data. By bridging these long-standing gaps between general relativity, thermodynamics, and quantum mechanics, the framework provides a new, mathematically precise language for investigating the evolution of the universe.
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