The Unified Field Theory of Phygital Space

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding Phygital Space as a unified, multi-dimensional ontological manifold, integrating geometry, thermodynamics, and dynamics, validated through analysis of China's e-commerce evolution.

Contribution

It formalizes Phygital Space using sheaf theory, Finsler geometry, and thermodynamics, providing a novel interdisciplinary approach to model digital-physical-social integration.

Findings

Validated the framework with a longitudinal study of Chinese e-commerce platforms.

Developed a thermodynamic model linking economic value to negentropy.

Proposed a theory of Temporal Shear to explain modern time pathologies.

Abstract

This paper proposes a Unified Field Theory of Phygital Space, positing that contemporary reality is not a dichotomy of "online" and "offline," but a unified ontological manifold of irreducible but coupled dimensions. We formalize Phygital Space as a sheaf over a topological site composed of the Physical (U), Networked Digital (D), and Networked Social (S) dimensions, grounded in Informaticity -- the triune capacity to compute, communicate, and control -- and instantiated through Platforms. We develop a rigorous framework incorporating Finsler geometry to model the inherently asymmetric costs of cross-dimensional interaction. We define Ontological Mass (mu) as a tensor quantity encoding resistance to change across coupled dimensions, and introduce autopoietic dynamics to account for the endogenous agency of persons, algorithms, and social formations. We propose a non-equilibrium thermodynamic model where economic value is negentropy generated by platforms acting as dissipative structures. We introduce a theory of Temporal Shear formalized through Lie derivatives to explain the pathologies of modern time. The theory is empirically validated through a longitudinal analysis of the Chinese e-commerce ecosystem (1999-2025), modeling the dimensional trajectories of Taobao, JD . com, Pinduoduo, and Douyin across twenty-five years of evolution. We extend the framework to a post-human ecology of Synthetic Agents and articulate the normative implications for platform governance and human flourishing.