P3: A Steady-State Nucleosynthesis : Resolution of the Cosmological Lithium Problem

The cosmological lithium problem — the factor-of-3.5 discrepancy between the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) prediction of lithium-7 abundance (5.6 × 10⁻¹⁰) and the observed Spite plateau value (1.6 × 10⁻¹⁰) — has remained unresolved for over three decades. This paper resolves it through steady-state nucleosynthesis: the observed lithium-7 abundance is the present-day equilibrium value maintained by ongoing cosmic-ray spallation production and stellar destruction, not a depleted remnant of a primordial BBN value. A quantitative three-environment (interstellar medium + stellar interior + photosphere) calculation using only measured inputs reproduces the Spite plateau to within 5%, without new nuclear physics or ad-hoc depletion mechanisms.The same steady-state framework addresses a second, independent anomaly in the standard model: the missing baryon problem. The Standard Model assumes a fixed, closed hydrogen budget fixed in the first minutes after the Big Bang, yet direct census consistently falls 30–50% short of the predicted total. BFUT treats hydrogen as continuously produced from the Spaticle field across all cosmic time and locations. This open budget naturally accommodates both the observed present-day hydrogen-helium ratio in the least-processed H II regions and the persistent shortfall in direct baryon census, without requiring undetected reservoirs recovered only through simulation. The Spaticle field produces only hydrogen; elements heavier than hydrogen appear only after gravitational collapse past the Jeans length threshold initiates stellar fusion. No observation under the standard BBN model contradicts this sequence. The framework generates clear, falsifiable predictions distinguishing it from the primordial interpretation.