Big bang/crunch curvature singularities in exact CFT string backgrounds can be removed by turning on gauge fields. This is described within a family of SL(2)×SU(2)×U(1)x U(1)×U(1) quotient CFTs. Uncharged incoming wavefunctions from the “whiskers” of the extended universe can be fully reflected if and only if a big bang/crunch curvature singularity, from which they are scattered, exists. Extend...

For a long time, there were two main theories related to how our universe would end. These were the Big Freeze and the Big Crunch. In short, the Big Crunch claimed that the universe would eventually stop expanding and collapse in on itself. This collapse would result in...well...a big crunch (for lack of a better term). Think “the Big Bang”, except just the opposite. That’s essentially what the...

For a long time, there were two main theories related to how our universe would end. These were the Big Freeze and the Big Crunch. In short, the Big Crunch claimed that the universe would eventually stop expanding and collapse in on itself. This collapse would result in...well...a big crunch (for lack of a better term). Think “the Big Bang”, except just the opposite. That’s essentially what the...

For a long time, there were two main theories related to how our universe would end. These were the Big Freeze and the Big Crunch. In short, the Big Crunch claimed that the universe would eventually stop expanding and collapse in on itself. This collapse would result in...well...a big crunch (for lack of a better term). Think “the Big Bang”, except just the opposite. That’s essentially what the...

Computational cost of metaheuristic based optimum design algorithms grows excessively with structure size. This results in computational inefficiency of modern metaheuristic algorithms in tackling optimum design problems of large scale structural systems. This paper attempts to provide a computationally efficient optimization tool for optimum design of large scale steel frame structures to AISC...