Explain cosmic inflation and the expansion of the universe

Determine the physical mechanisms and develop a predictive theory that account for both the expansion of the universe and the phenomenon of cosmic inflation in cosmology, consistent with observational constraints.

Background

The paper critiques claims made by proponents of Assembly Theory that their framework could explain phenomena far beyond molecular complexity, including cosmological ones. In doing so, the authors note that the expansion of the universe and cosmic inflation are not resolved within cosmology.

By flagging cosmic inflation as an open problem, the authors underscore that Assembly Theory’s claims to explain such phenomena lack grounding, since even within cosmology these questions remain unsettled, highlighting the gap between the theory’s stated ambitions and established scientific understanding.

References

To the extent that AT may have a pedagogical advantage in its peculiar application to molecular complexity, this has unfortunately remained unclear due to the obfuscatory nature of the hyperbolic introduction of AT by the authors amplified by the scientific media, being touted as a theory of everything able to unify physics and biology, explain and characterise life on Earth and beyond, explain matter, time, revolutionise medicine and drug discovery, and even explain the expansion of the universe and the phenomenon of cosmic inflation that is an open problem in cosmology.

— Assembly Theory Reduced to Shannon Entropy and Rendered Redundant by Naive Statistical Algorithms  (2408.15108 - Ozelim et al., 2024) in Discussion section

In the family of solutions constructed here this possibility is not realized, due to the BPS ansatz. In a future work we plan to consider a more general consideration for the BPS ansatz and to investigate if the Pyonic vortices can provide a mechanism which can explain the early-time or late-time expansion of the universe.

— Inhomogeneous Cosmologies with Bumpy Structure from Superfluid Pionic Vortices and the propagation of electromagnetic field  (2608.24666 - Canfora et al., 25 Aug 2026) in Section 6, Conclusions and perspectives