Independent observational pillars — the cosmic microwave background, the abundances of light elements, and the redshift–distance relation — converge tightly on the hot Big Bang framework. Active disagreement concerns the inflationary mechanism, not the framework itself.
The observable universe expanded from a hot, dense early state approximately 13.8 billion years ago, as described by the ΛCDM cosmological framework.
Three independent observational pillars support the framework. Precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background fix the age and composition of the universe to percent-level accuracy Planck 2020. The relative abundances of hydrogen, helium, and lithium match Big-Bang nucleosynthesis predictions Cyburt 2016. The redshift–distance relation, extended by Type Ia supernovae, establishes accelerating expansion Riess 1998.
Remaining debate is internal to the framework — for example, the physical mechanism of cosmic inflation Steinhardt 2011 — rather than a challenge to the hot, dense origin itself.
The score is computed deterministically from the citations below, following the methodology in the manuscript (§5). Nothing is hand-tuned per entry — change the evidence and the number moves.
| Citation | sᵢ | mᵢ | tᵢ | e^(−tᵢ/T) | mᵢ·e^(−tᵢ/T) | sᵢ·mᵢ·e^(−tᵢ/T) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planck 2020 | +1 | 10.0 | 6y | 0.928 | 9.28 | +9.28 |
| Riess 1998 | +1 | 8.0 | 28y | 0.705 | 5.64 | +5.64 |
| Cyburt 2016 | +1 | 8.0 | 10y | 0.882 | 7.06 | +7.06 |
| Penzias 1965 | +1 | 7.0 | 61y | 0.466 | 3.27 | +3.27 |
| Steinhardt 2011 | 0 | 2.0 | 15y | 0.829 | 1.66 | +0.00 |
| Σ over citations | 35.0 | 26.90 Mₚ | +25.24 Xₚ·Mₚ |
Reading it: the verdict is Full scientific consensus · Yes. Direction comes only from Xₚ (tanh is always positive); certainty comes from tanh(Mₚ/W₀) = 1.00. Because Cₚ = 50 when Xₚ = 0 regardless of mass, a balanced stalemate and an unstudied question both read as 50 — which is why Mₚ is always shown alongside the score.
| Revision | Score Cₚ | Mass Mₚ | Center Xₚ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current revision | 97 | 26.9 | +0.94 |
| 3 May 2026 | 97↑ +1 | 26.9 | +0.94 |
| 12 Apr 2026 | 96 | 25.1 | +0.93 |