**Authentication Refactor:** Remove authStore and its associated tests, transitioning to the new authentication model. Add dynamic loading for PasswordResetConfirmForm to optimize performance. Include a theme initialization script in layout.tsx to prevent FOUC.

frontend/src/app/providers.tsx

@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from '@tanstack/react-query';
 import { ReactQueryDevtools } from '@tanstack/react-query-devtools';
 import { useState } from 'react';
-import { AuthInitializer } from '@/components/auth';
 import { ThemeProvider } from '@/components/theme';
 
 export function Providers({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
@@ -14,7 +13,8 @@ export function Providers({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
           queries: {
             staleTime: 60 * 1000, // 1 minute
             retry: 1,
-            refetchOnWindowFocus: true,
+            refetchOnWindowFocus: false, // Disabled - use selective refetching per query
+            refetchOnReconnect: true, // Keep for session data
           },
           mutations: {
             retry: false,
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ export function Providers({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
   return (
     <ThemeProvider>
       <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
-        <AuthInitializer />
+        {/* AuthInitializer removed - Zustand persist middleware handles auto-hydration */}
         {children}
         <ReactQueryDevtools initialIsOpen={false} />
       </QueryClientProvider>