Dear Mr. Vastola,
This is a very deep and well-written essay on connections between thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. I admire that it does not just rehash familiar tropes about quantum measurement, interference and the like. One issue I noted when reading on the subject: curiously, the principles of optics "conspire" to prevent violation of the Second Law, by preventing a system from focusing to a surface brightness more than the source (IOW, through a minimum allowed f/ratio. Otherwise, image brightness could be increased without limit. I leave the consequences "as an exercise for the reader."
You and others might find my essay interesting, and it could use more votes on this last day. I discuss the limitations on realistic models of "superluminal signalling" to explain the correlations of entanglement. Pardon inactive link.
https://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/3548
