Energy as Vacuum Negation: A Thermodynamic Framework for Persistence, Collapse, and Quantum Structure

We propose a unifying ontological and physical framework in which energy is reinterpreted as the persistence of structured deviation from a true vacuum state, defined as a configuration of maximal entropy and perfect symmetry. In this model, all particles, fields, and spacetime curvatures are expressions of vacuum negation, and energy becomes a measure of asymmetry and structural resistance to entropic reversion. Building upon Fundamental Selection Theory (FST), we define a viability function governing persistence and introduce a novel upper bound for overcompression. This extension leads to a cosmogenic hypothesis: black holes act as repositories of vacuum-negating energy which, when compressed beyond a persistence threshold, rupture into new cosmological domains. The model aligns with core principles from thermodynamics, general relativity, quantum field theory, and symmetry-based physics, offering reinterpretations of wavefunction collapse, entropy, time, and cosmological expansion. We outline testable predictions and define a mathematical program for developing vacuum negation within existing physical formalisms.