We investigate the impact of residual annihilation from sub-GeV mass thermal relic dark matter candidates during big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Focusing on candidates with p -wave annihilation channels, we show that the hadronic injection of pions and kaons beyond freeze-out, and their subsequent interaction with protons and neutrons prior to the deuterium bottleneck, provides a sensitivity to annihilation that surpasses that of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and indirect detection in the galaxy.

At temperatures below the QCD phase transition, any substantial lepton number in the Universe can only be present within the neutrino sector. In this work, we systematically explore the impact of a non-vanishing lepton number on Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Relying on our recently developed framework based on momentum averaged quantum kinetic equations for the neutrino density matrix, we solve the full BBN reaction network to obtain the abundances of primordial elements. We find that the maximal primordial total lepton number L allowed by BBN and the CMB is -0.12 (-0.10) ≤ L ≤ 0.13 (0.12) for NH (IH),while specific flavor directions can be even more constrained. This bound is complementary to the limits obtained from avoiding baryon overproduction through sphaleron processes at the electroweak phase transition since, although numerically weaker, it applies at lower temperatures and is obtained completely independently. We publicly release the C++ code COFLASY-C on GitHub (https://github.com/mariofnavarro/COFLASY/tree/COFLASY-C) which solves for the evolution of the neutrino quantum kinetic equations numerically.

Insights for early dark energy with big bang nucleosynthesis

This article describes a model of Unitary Quantum Field theory where the particle is represented as a wave packet. The frequency dispersion equation is chosen so that the packet periodically appears and disappears without form changings. The envelope of the process is identified with a conventional wave function. Equation of such a field is nonlinear and relativistically invariant. With proper adjustments, they are reduced to Dirac, Schrödinger and Hamilton-Jacobi equations. A number of new experimental effects have been predicted both for high and low energies. Fine structure constant (1/137) was determined in 1988, masses of numerous elementary particles starting from electron were evaluated in 2007 with accuracy less than 1 %. 2 pentaquarks, θ^+barion, Higgs boson and particle 28 GeV were discovered 11 years later, all of them were evaluated with high accuracy before. The overall picture of the world is based on a unify field. These Equations allow for the beginning of a universe without a Big Bang. Gravity ceases to be a mystery. In principle, a completely new type of “green” energy is possible for mankind.

Abstract We hereby address the cosmological singularity problem in a general gravitational theory invariant under Weyl conformal transformations. In particular, we focus on the Bianchi IX spacetime and we show that both the initial (big bang) and final (big crunch) singularities disappear in an infinite class of conformal frames naturally selected according to analyticity. It turns out that the past and future singularities are both unattainable within a finite affine parameter (for massless particles) or within a finite proper time (for massive and conformally coupled particles). In order to prove such a statement, we show the geodesic completion of the spacetime when probed by massless, massive, and conformally coupled particles. Finally, the chaotic behavior of the spacetime near the singularity is tamed by a conformal rescaling that turns the Bianchi IX metric into a quasi-FLRW spacetime.

Abstract We present a unified framework that combines early- and late-Universe observations to constrain three functional realizations of f(T,B) gravity: the linear, quadratic, and general power-law models. First, constraints on deviations from the standard weak interaction freeze-out temperature are derived using the most recent measurements of the primordial helium-4 mass fraction. Second, we perform a joint analysis incorporating five priors: Type Ia supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, cosmic chronometers, Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, and Cosmic Microwave Background in order to place bounds on the model parameters. The joint likelihood analysis significantly tightens the constraints compared to individual datasets. Third, we test the null, strong, and dominant energy conditions to evaluate the physical viability of the best-fit solutions across the cosmic redshift range. Our results show that all three f(T,B) models are consistent with current observations and exhibit stable behavior under the energy-condition criteria, supporting torsion–boundary modified gravity as a robust and viable alternative of General Relativity.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) develops through evolutionary processes involving genomic alterations, epigenetic regulation, and microenvironmental interactions. While traditionally explained by the stepwise accumulation of driver mutations, contemporary evidence supports a 'Big Bang' model in which many early-arising clones expand simultaneously to establish extensive heterogeneity. We reviewed recent studies employing spatially resolved multi-omic sequencing of tumour glands combined with computational modelling. These approaches enable high-resolution reconstruction of clonal architecture, transcriptional states, and chromatin accessibility. Findings show that although early clonal mutations shape tumour expansion, gene expression variability can be independent of genetic ancestry and instead reflects phenotypic plasticity driven by microenvironmental cues. Epigenomic analyses identified recurrent somatic chromatin accessibility alterations in promotors and enhancers of oncogenic pathways, frequently in the absence of DNA mutations, suggesting alternative mechanisms of gene regulation. Immune-focused studies demonstrated that early silencing of antigen-presenting genes and loss of neoantigens facilitate immune escape despite active surveillance. CRC is shaped by an interplay of genome, epigenome, and immune evolution, with non-genetic mechanisms and tumour plasticity emerging as important drivers of progression and therapeutic resistance.

Abstract We develop a stochastic extension of the Wheeler–DeWitt equation in FLRW minisuperspace and show that quantum backreaction can dynamically regulate the big bang singularity without imposing external boundary conditions. Using Laplace–Beltrami quantisation and an open-system treatment of coarse-grained graviton modes, we obtain a stochastic Hamiltonian evolution equation in which the diffusion coefficient takes the form $\sigma(a)\propto a^2$. This multiplicative noise vanishes at the origin and renders $a=0$ an entrance boundary in Feller’s classification, leading to super-exponential suppression of the Laplace–Beltrami weighted stationary density and zero probability flux into the singular point. At large scale factor, the global behaviour depends on the cosmological sector: de Sitter and positive potential-dominated regimes exhibit power-law stationary tails, whereas confining potentials or negative effective cosmological constant lead to an entrance boundary at infinity and a globally normalizable steady state. Taken together, these results indicate that stochastic backreaction arising from semiclassical coarse-graining provides a consistent and dynamical mechanism for singularity avoidance in minisuperspace quantum cosmology.

The bouncing cosmological scenario provides an alternative to the standard Big Bang model by replacing the initial singularity with a smooth transition between a contracting and an expanding phase. In this article, we center our attention in exploring the viability of bouncing cosmological scenarios in the context of [Formula: see text] gravity, an extended teleparallel framework that incorporates both the torsion scalar [Formula: see text] and the teleparallel equivalent of the Gauss-Bonnet term [Formula: see text]. A symmetric bounce cosmological model is considered, and its implications are examined by analyzing key cosmological parameters, including the Hubble parameter [Formula: see text] and the deceleration parameter [Formula: see text]. To investigate the dynamics of the bounce, we consider three different functional forms of [Formula: see text] gravity and assess the energy conditions for each model which transform singularity into bounce. Moreover, equation of state parameter [Formula: see text] is analyzed for each model to study the expansion of the universe. Furthermore, the stability and physical feasibility of the models is investigated through squared speed of sound which confirms the stability of models. The study highlights a crucial role of [Formula: see text] gravity to understand the transition from singularity to bounce.

Abstract Super-Eddington accretion has been proposed to explain the existence of black holes (BHs) with masses exceeding a billion solar masses within the first billion years after the Big Bang. We present a novel accretion disc-based sub-grid model for BH mass and spin evolution in the super-Eddington regime, implemented in the hydrodynamics code gizmo. In our model, motivated by results of radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of accretion discs, the growth of the BH is mediated by a sub-grid accretion disc, comprising an inner photon-trapping region described by simulation-based fitting formulae and an outer thin α-disc with three regions. We incorporate a self-consistent spin evolution prescription that transitions between the Bardeen-Petterson effect and inner thick-disc precession, depending on the accretion rate. We perform a suite of idealised simulations of a BH embedded in a gaseous circumnuclear disc and a spherically distributed stellar component to explore the conditions under which super-Eddington accretion can be sustained in the environment of a realistic galactic nucleus. Simulations with misaligned gas inflows onto an initially aligned BH-disc system yield very high Eddington ratios, triggered by the rapid removal of disc angular momentum via inflows. These results highlight the importance of angular momentum misalignment in enabling super-Eddington accretion and suggest that such episodes are difficult to trigger unless the system resides in a highly dynamical environment – a condition more likely to occur in high-redshift galaxies. Our model potentially provides a way to grow moderate-mass BH seeds to the sizes required to explain the bright high-redshift quasars.

Mixmaster fluids near the big bang

ABSTRACT Metallicity is a crucial tracer of galaxy evolution, providing insights into gas accretion, star formation, and feedback. At high redshift, these processes reveal how early galaxies assembled and enriched their interstellar medium. In this work, we present rest-frame optical spectroscopy of 12 massive ($\log (M_*/\mathrm{{\rm M}_{\odot }})>9$) galaxies at $z\sim 6$–8 from the Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey (REBELS) Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) large program, observed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRSpec integral field unit spectroscopy in the prism mode. These observations span emission lines from [O ii]$\lambda\lambda$3727,9 to [S ii]$\lambda\lambda$6716,31, providing key information on nebular dust attenuation, ionization states, and chemical abundances. We find lower O32 ratios (average $\sim 3.7$) and [O iii]$\lambda$5007 equivalent widths (median EW${_{[\mathrm{ O\,{{\small III}}]}}}\sim 480$ Å) than are generally found in existing large spectroscopic surveys at $z>6$, indicating less extreme ionizing conditions. Strong-line diagnostics suggest that these systems are some of the most metal-rich galaxies observed at $z>6$ (average $Z_{\mathrm{gas}}\sim 0.4 Z_{\odot }$), including sources with near-solar oxygen abundances, in line with their high stellar masses (average $\log {M_*/\mathrm{{\rm M}_{\odot }}}\sim 9.5$). Supplementing with literature sources at lower masses, we investigate the mass–metallicity and fundamental metallicity relations (MZR and FMR, respectively) over a 4 dex stellar mass range at $6< z< 8$. In contrast to recent studies of lower mass galaxies, we find no evidence for negative offsets to the $z=0$ FMR for the REBELS galaxies. This work demonstrates the existence of chemically enriched galaxies just $\sim 1$ Gyr after the big bang, and indicates that the MZR is already in place at these early times, in agreement with other recent $z>3$ studies.

Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound structures in the universe and serve as tracers of the assembly of large-scale structure1. Studying their progenitors, protoclusters, sheds light on the earliest stages of cluster formation. However, detecting protoclusters is demanding: their member galaxies are loosely bound and the emerging hot intracluster medium (ICM) may only be in the initial stages of virialization2-4. Recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations located several protocluster candidates by identifying overdensities of z ≳ 5 galaxies5-9. However, none of these candidates was detected by X-ray observations, which offer a powerful way to unveil the hot ICM. Here we report the combined Chandra and JWST detection of a protocluster, JADES-ID1, at z ≈ 5.68, merely one billion years after the Big Bang. We measure a bolometric X-ray luminosity of and infer a total gravitating mass of , making this system a progenitor of today's most massive galaxy clusters. The detection of extended, shock-heated gas indicates that substantial ICM heating can occur in massive halos as early as z ≈ 5.7. Also, given the limited survey volume, the discovery of such a massive cluster is statistically unlikely10, implying that the formation of the large-scale structure must have occurred more rapidly in some regions of the early universe than standard cosmological models predict.

The article explores how English markers shaping Sheldon Cooper’s linguistic personality are rendered in the Ukrainian dubbing of The Big Bang Theory. The study aims to identify linguistic means constructing the character’s speech identity and outline the key translation techniques applied to convey it. The methodological framework combines inductive and deductive reasoning, analytical and synthetic methods, pragmatic and transformational analyses supported by continuous sampling. The findings show that Sheldon’s linguistic profile is defined by lexical (high terminological density, frequent use of scientific and technical vocabulary from physics, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, computer science, linguistics, psychology, and philosophy), stylistic (use of tropes such as sarcasm, irony, metaphor, comparison, hyperbole, litotes, allusion), pragmatic (expressive use of interjections to enhance emotional delivery and prosodic flow), and grammatical (preference for complex syntax, passive constructions, conditional clauses) markers. Collectively, these features define him as a strong ambivert linguistic personality. These markers are reproduced in translation through lexical (calquing, transcoding), lexico-semantic (modulation, concretization, generalization, emphatization, neutralization), lexico-grammatical (antonymic translation, functional substitution), and grammatical (omission, segmentation, syntactic substitution) transformations. The blend of literal translation (mainly for scientific terms) and domestication ensures natural flow, temporal sync, and cultural adaptation. The study stresses the need to consider the character’s cognitive and cultural traits for accurate, contextually nuanced translation.

We discuss the problem of singularity crossing in isotropic and anisotropic universes. First, we consider the so called soft or sudden singularities and, in particular the Big Brake singularity. This singularity was discovered in a particular tachyon cosmological model and it was also shown that this kind of singularity arises in a very simple model, where matter is represented by the anti-Chaplygin gas. At the the encounter with the Big Brake singularity the universe has a finite scale factor, a vanishing expansion velocity and an infinite deceleration. The Christoffel symbols also vanish the geodesics are regular and the universe easily can cross such a singularity. Adding to the anti-Chaplygin gas or to the tachyon matter some amount of dust we see that the Big Brake singularity is substituted by a more general soft singularity, its crossing implies a certain transformation of the properties of matter. The crossing of the Big Bang – Big Crunch singularity is more counter-intuitive. However, we describe it for both Friedmann universe and Bianchi-I universe using the field reparametrization of the variables present in models (a scalar field and the metric). Then we consider the Wheeler-DeWitt equation and show that the probability for the universe to find itself at the soft singularity is different from zero, while the encounter with the Big Bang – Big Crunch singularity is suppressed. We analyze the possibility to construct Fock spaces of quantum particles at the vicinity of different cosmological singularities and see when it is possible and when it is not possible. Finally, we present some attempts to develop general approach to the connection between the field reparametrization and the elimination of singularities.

Projected climate changes in the Mediterranean exceed those in most European regions, yet their effects on vegetation remain uncertain. We investigated vegetation changes in the Agri Valley (Basilicata, Italy) using 318 plots, including 40 resurveys. Community-weighted Ellenberg indicator values (EIVs) and plant ecological groups were combined with long-term hydroclimatic anomalies reconstructed via the BIGBANG model (1951–2024), providing a long-term climatic baseline for interpretation. Significant shifts emerged in several EIVs, with clear habitat-specific patterns. Forests showed decreasing light and increasing moisture values, reflecting a higher presence of forest-associated species, though some diagnostic taxa declined. Grasslands exhibited increasing aridity, with a growing contribution of dry-grassland species and a decline in winter therophytes. Climatic analyses revealed pronounced long-term warming, accelerating after the 1980s, while annual precipitation remained highly variable without a monotonic trend. Recent years were marked by intensified drought, evidenced by declining SPEI values (2013–2022) and a higher frequency of dry months (SPEI ≤ −1). The convergence of vegetation responses, species turnover, and climatic anomalies supports climate-driven community trajectories. Despite limited land-use data, this multi-indicator framework effectively detects early ecological responses and identifies vulnerable habitats, providing valuable insights for the conservation and management of Mediterranean mountain ecosystems under ongoing climate change.

The Dead Universe Theory (DUT) introduces a novel cosmological framework in which the universe evolves toward a final state of thermodynamic and quantum equilibrium, challenging the conventional Big Bang paradigm. This study presents a computational analysis based on the DUT Simulator 1.0, which models gravitational collapse, entropy gradients, and vacuum structure without singularities. The simulator applies regularized gravitational potentials and quantum thermodynamic parameters to describe the internal dynamics of a closed cosmic system. Simulations accurately reproduce the observed properties of high-redshift massive galaxies detected by the James Webb Space Telescope, including CEERS-1019 (z = 8.67, M⋆ ≈ 1.1 × 10<sup>10</sup> M☉) and GLASS-z13 (z = 13.1, M⋆ ≈ 1.5 × 10<sup>10</sup> M☉), with an average deviation below 5% in stellar mass estimation. Additionally, the model explains the emergence of structural stability in extreme gravitational regimes, offering falsifiable predictions about the long-term decay of entropy and the cessation of cosmic expansion. This article also proposes experimental pathways for DUT validation through observational astrophysics and controlled laboratory analogues. By integrating quantum information dynamics with gravitational thermodynamics, DUT offers a consistent alternative to ΛCDM, particularly in addressing the cosmological constant problem and the entropy flow in late-universe scenarios.

With a Big Bang, the trajectories of galaxies originate near a common point. It is simple to derive the recession velocityof a receding galaxy as a function of distance. This function is not the straight line predicted by Hubble’s law. Darkenergy was invoked to explain the deviation from a straight line. The deviation is simple physics.

Groundwater scarcity is an escalating global crisis, particularly in urban areas where municipal water systems struggle to meet rising demand. The existing literature attributes water insecurity, including groundwater depletion and inadequate piped water supply, to poor governance. This study examines, Faisalabad, Pakistan, where the unreliable, intermittent piped water system has led to heavy reliance on groundwater, to assess how formal and informal institutions shape urban water governance. Using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework alongside Ostrom’s design principles, the analysis identifies institutional weaknesses in local water management. The findings show that informal institutions have usurped power from formal authority, underscoring the pivotal role of informal institutions. To overhaul the governance system, the study advances two policy recommendations: (1) a “Big Bang” approach to replace the current municipal water agency with a new institution grounded in impartiality, and (2) State-Reinforced Self-Governance, through which government enables communities to collectively self-govern the aquifer.

In the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang, the universe existed in an extremely hot, dense state in which particle interactions occurred not in vacuum but within a thermal medium. Under such conditions, the standard framework of quantum field theory (QFT) requires a finite-temperature extension, wherein propagators—and hence the fundamental structure of the theory—are modified to reflect thermal background effects. These thermal modifications are central to understanding the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) as a high-temperature phase transition, potentially leading to qualitatively different vacuum structures for the Higgs field as the universe cooled. Finite-temperature corrections naturally regulate ultraviolet divergences in propagators, hinting at a possible route toward ultraviolet completion. However, these same thermal effects exacerbate infrared pathologies and can lead to imaginary contributions to the effective potential, particularly when analyzing metastable or multi-vacuum configurations. Additional theoretical challenges, such as gauge dependence and renormalization scale ambiguity, further obscure the precise characterization of the electroweak phase transition—even in minimal extensions of the Standard Model (SM). This review presents the theoretical foundations of finite-temperature QFT with an emphasis on how different field species respond to thermal effects, identifying the bosonic sector as the primary source of key theoretical subtleties. We focus particularly on the scalar extension of the SM, which offers a compelling framework for realizing first-order electroweak phase transitions, electroweak baryogenesis, and accommodating dark matter candidates depending on the underlying Z2 symmetry structure.