The Physics of Dissipative Coherence: Regulatory Solvency as a Formal Basis for Agency and State Space Viability

A unified thermodynamic framework proposing "Regulatory Solvency" as the physical basis for agency. This project distinguishes between Passive Dissipative Systems (driven by gradients) and Active Dissipative Systems (driven by internal models), positing that the transition occurs at a critical "Complexity Gap". We introduce the Substrate Efficiency Coefficient (beta) to link Landauer’s limit to macroscopic viability, defining health not as static equilibrium, but as "Bounded Instability" supported by a Stabilization Triad. Includes a substrate-agnostic taxonomy of pathologies and proposed isomorphisms with Renormalization Group flows in QFT.