Antipodal Bullet Theory: A Unified Mechanism for Large Igneous Provinces, Mass Extinctions and World-Class

The strongest mass extinctions in the Phanerozoic systematically correlate with Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) located antipodal to suspected or confirmed giant impact structures. Current impact models assume instantaneous vaporisation of any impactor larger than 10 km, making deep-mantle penetration impossible. We demonstrate that metallic cores of differentiated approximately 70–120 km comets/protoplanets arriving from the Oort Cloud at cryogenic temperatures (less than or equal to -250 °C) require approximately 6–9 days to melt completely by radiative heating, whereas transit time through Earth is only approximately 14 minutes. Consequently, a partially coherent metallic core can reach the antipodal lithosphere, producing massive uplift (15–50 km), radial fracturing, and prolonged flood-basalt volcanism lasting 0.3–1 Myr — exactly the observed duration and geometry of the largest LIPs. The same process explains the world-class Ni-Cu-PGE deposits (Noril'sk, Bushveld) via direct injection and fractional crystallisation of core-derived siderophile metals. The theory is quantitatively falsifiable within 5 years via existing gravity data, Os-isotope re-analysis, and targeted Antarctic exploration at Wilkes Land. As an independent researcher, I welcome collaboration with members f the scientific community who find value in this work. Researchers registered as arXiv endorsers in Geophysics (physics.geo-ph), Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), or related fields who are willing to support submission of this paper to arXiv are invited to contact the author at [email protected]. https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1089-9023