diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish_to_pypi.yml b/.github/workflows/publish_to_pypi.yml
index 9495113..e7fdaa9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish_to_pypi.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish_to_pypi.yml
@@ -1,159 +1,159 @@
-name: CI
-
-on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - main
-      - master
-    tags:
-      - '*'
-  pull_request:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-concurrency:
-  
-  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
-  
-  cancel-in-progress: true
-
-permissions:
-  contents: read
-
-# Make sure CI fails on all warnings, including Clippy lints
-env:
-  RUSTFLAGS: "-Dwarnings"
-
-jobs:
-  linux_tests:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        target: [x86_64]
-        python-version: ["3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
-        with:
-          
-          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
-          
-
-      - name: Set up Rust
-        run: rustup show
-      - uses: mozilla-actions/sccache-action@v0.0.3
-      - run: make venv
-      - run: make pre-commit
-      - run: make install
-      - run: make test
-
-  linux:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        target: [x86_64, x86]
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
-        with:
-          python-version: '3.10'
-      - name: Build wheels
-        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
-        with:
-          target: ${{ matrix.target }}
-          
-          args: --release --out dist --find-interpreter
-          sccache: 'true'
-          manylinux: auto
-
-      - name: Upload wheels
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
-        with:
-          name: wheels
-          path: dist
-  windows:
-    runs-on: windows-latest
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        target: [x64]
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
-        with:
-          python-version: '3.10'
-          
-          architecture: ${{ matrix.target }}
-          
-      - name: Build wheels
-        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
-        with:
-          
-          target: ${{ matrix.target }}
-          
-          args: --release --out dist --find-interpreter
-          sccache: 'true'
-
-      - name: Upload wheels
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
-        with:
-          name: wheels
-          path: dist
-
-  macos:
-    runs-on: macos-latest
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        target: [x86_64, aarch64]
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
-        with:
-          python-version: '3.10'
-      - name: Build wheels
-        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
-        with:
-          
-          target: ${{ matrix.target }}
-          
-          args: --release --out dist --find-interpreter
-          sccache: 'true'
-      - name: Upload wheels
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
-        with:
-          name: wheels
-          path: dist
-    env:
-      RUSTFLAGS: "-Clink-arg=-undefined -Clink-arg=dynamic_lookup"
-
-  sdist:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - name: Build sdist
-        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
-        with:
-          command: sdist
-          args: --out dist
-      - name: Upload sdist
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
-        with:
-          name: wheels
-          path: dist
-
-  release:
-    name: Release
-    if: "startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')"
-    needs: [linux, windows, macos, sdist]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    environment: pypi
-    permissions:
-      id-token: write  # IMPORTANT: mandatory for trusted publishing
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
-        with:
-          name: wheels
-      - name: Publish to PyPI
-        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
-        with:
-          command: upload
-          args: --non-interactive --skip-existing *
-
+#name: CI
+#
+#on:
+#  push:
+#    branches:
+#      - main
+#      - master
+#    tags:
+#      - '*'
+#  pull_request:
+#  workflow_dispatch:
+#
+#concurrency:
+#
+#  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
+#
+#  cancel-in-progress: true
+#
+#permissions:
+#  contents: read
+#
+## Make sure CI fails on all warnings, including Clippy lints
+#env:
+#  RUSTFLAGS: "-Dwarnings"
+#
+#jobs:
+#  linux_tests:
+#    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+#    strategy:
+#      matrix:
+#        target: [x86_64]
+#        python-version: ["3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]
+#    steps:
+#      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+#      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+#        with:
+#
+#          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
+#
+#
+#      - name: Set up Rust
+#        run: rustup show
+#      - uses: mozilla-actions/sccache-action@v0.0.3
+#      - run: make venv
+#      - run: make pre-commit
+#      - run: make install
+#      - run: make test
+#
+#  linux:
+#    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+#    strategy:
+#      matrix:
+#        target: [x86_64, x86]
+#    steps:
+#      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+#      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+#        with:
+#          python-version: '3.10'
+#      - name: Build wheels
+#        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
+#        with:
+#          target: ${{ matrix.target }}
+#
+#          args: --release --out dist --find-interpreter
+#          sccache: 'true'
+#          manylinux: auto
+#
+#      - name: Upload wheels
+#        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
+#        with:
+#          name: wheels
+#          path: dist
+#  windows:
+#    runs-on: windows-latest
+#    strategy:
+#      matrix:
+#        target: [x64]
+#    steps:
+#      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+#      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+#        with:
+#          python-version: '3.10'
+#
+#          architecture: ${{ matrix.target }}
+#
+#      - name: Build wheels
+#        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
+#        with:
+#
+#          target: ${{ matrix.target }}
+#
+#          args: --release --out dist --find-interpreter
+#          sccache: 'true'
+#
+#      - name: Upload wheels
+#        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
+#        with:
+#          name: wheels
+#          path: dist
+#
+#  macos:
+#    runs-on: macos-latest
+#    strategy:
+#      matrix:
+#        target: [x86_64, aarch64]
+#    steps:
+#      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+#      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+#        with:
+#          python-version: '3.10'
+#      - name: Build wheels
+#        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
+#        with:
+#
+#          target: ${{ matrix.target }}
+#
+#          args: --release --out dist --find-interpreter
+#          sccache: 'true'
+#      - name: Upload wheels
+#        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
+#        with:
+#          name: wheels
+#          path: dist
+#    env:
+#      RUSTFLAGS: "-Clink-arg=-undefined -Clink-arg=dynamic_lookup"
+#
+#  sdist:
+#    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+#    steps:
+#      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+#      - name: Build sdist
+#        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
+#        with:
+#          command: sdist
+#          args: --out dist
+#      - name: Upload sdist
+#        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
+#        with:
+#          name: wheels
+#          path: dist
+#
+#  release:
+#    name: Release
+#    if: "startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')"
+#    needs: [linux, windows, macos, sdist]
+#    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+#    environment: pypi
+#    permissions:
+#      id-token: write  # IMPORTANT: mandatory for trusted publishing
+#    steps:
+#      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
+#        with:
+#          name: wheels
+#      - name: Publish to PyPI
+#        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
+#        with:
+#          command: upload
+#          args: --non-interactive --skip-existing *
+#
diff --git a/benchmark/run_bench.ipynb b/benchmark/run_bench.ipynb
index 9242407..2b3bd81 100644
--- a/benchmark/run_bench.ipynb
+++ b/benchmark/run_bench.ipynb
@@ -8,7 +8,11 @@
   },
   {
    "metadata": {
-    "collapsed": true
+    "collapsed": true,
+    "ExecuteTime": {
+     "end_time": "2024-12-11T13:20:41.055850Z",
+     "start_time": "2024-12-11T13:20:38.090893Z"
+    }
    },
    "cell_type": "code",
    "source": [
@@ -16,8 +20,40 @@
     "!pip install --force-reinstall bioframe==0.7.2 pyarrow fastparquet pyranges==0.1.2 pybedtools==0.10.0 git+https://gitlab.com/gtamazian/pygenomics.git"
    ],
    "id": "initial_id",
-   "outputs": [],
-   "execution_count": null
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "name": "stderr",
+     "output_type": "stream",
+     "text": [
+      "/Users/mwiewior/.pyenv/versions/miniconda3-latest/lib/python3.12/pty.py:95: RuntimeWarning: Using fork() can cause Polars to deadlock in the child process.\n",
+      "In addition, using fork() with Python in general is a recipe for mysterious\n",
+      "deadlocks and crashes.\n",
+      "\n",
+      "The most likely reason you are seeing this error is because you are using the\n",
+      "multiprocessing module on Linux, which uses fork() by default. This will be\n",
+      "fixed in Python 3.14. Until then, you want to use the \"spawn\" context instead.\n",
+      "\n",
+      "See https://docs.pola.rs/user-guide/misc/multiprocessing/ for details.\n",
+      "\n",
+      "  pid, fd = os.forkpty()\n"
+     ]
+    },
+    {
+     "name": "stdout",
+     "output_type": "stream",
+     "text": [
+      "\u001B[33mDEPRECATION: Loading egg at /Users/mwiewior/.pyenv/versions/miniconda3-latest/lib/python3.12/site-packages/bllipparser-2021.11.7-py3.12-macosx-11.1-arm64.egg is deprecated. pip 24.3 will enforce this behaviour change. A possible replacement is to use pip for package installation.. Discussion can be found at https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/12330\u001B[0m\u001B[33m\r\n",
+      "\u001B[0m\u001B[33mDEPRECATION: Loading egg at /Users/mwiewior/.pyenv/versions/miniconda3-latest/lib/python3.12/site-packages/owl2vec_star-0.2.1-py3.12.egg is deprecated. pip 24.3 will enforce this behaviour change. A possible replacement is to use pip for package installation.. Discussion can be found at https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/12330\u001B[0m\u001B[33m\r\n",
+      "\u001B[0mCollecting git+https://gitlab.com/gtamazian/pygenomics.git\r\n",
+      "  Cloning https://gitlab.com/gtamazian/pygenomics.git to /private/var/folders/l3/8404fxz55gvdfszw4zf7ptp40000gn/T/pip-req-build-zyv8gigp\r\n",
+      "  Running command git clone --filter=blob:none --quiet https://gitlab.com/gtamazian/pygenomics.git /private/var/folders/l3/8404fxz55gvdfszw4zf7ptp40000gn/T/pip-req-build-zyv8gigp\r\n",
+      "^C\r\n",
+      "\u001B[31mERROR: Operation cancelled by user\u001B[0m\u001B[31m\r\n",
+      "\u001B[0m"
+     ]
+    }
+   ],
+   "execution_count": 1
   },
   {
    "metadata": {},
@@ -28,8 +64,8 @@
   {
    "metadata": {
     "ExecuteTime": {
-     "end_time": "2024-12-09T18:17:40.183149Z",
-     "start_time": "2024-12-09T18:17:40.179388Z"
+     "end_time": "2024-12-11T13:20:43.417613Z",
+     "start_time": "2024-12-11T13:20:43.414284Z"
     }
    },
    "cell_type": "code",
@@ -48,13 +84,13 @@
      ]
     }
    ],
-   "execution_count": 1
+   "execution_count": 2
   },
   {
    "metadata": {
     "ExecuteTime": {
-     "end_time": "2024-12-09T18:17:42.889469Z",
-     "start_time": "2024-12-09T18:17:42.887721Z"
+     "end_time": "2024-12-11T13:20:45.124138Z",
+     "start_time": "2024-12-11T13:20:45.122444Z"
     }
    },
    "cell_type": "code",
@@ -64,7 +100,7 @@
    ],
    "id": "ae490515180f0af4",
    "outputs": [],
-   "execution_count": 2
+   "execution_count": 3
   },
   {
    "metadata": {},
@@ -486,8 +522,8 @@
    "source": [
     "metrics = {\n",
     "    \"polars-bio-pl-df--pl-lf\" :     {\"0-1\": 0.147, \"0-3\": 44.942, \"0-8\": 6.096, \"7-8\": 9.522},\n",
-    "    \"polars-bio-polars\" :   {\"0-1\": 0.145, \"0-3\": 24.668, \"0-8\": 4.210, \"7-8\": 6.698},\n",
-    "    \"polars-bio-pandas\" :   {\"0-1\": 0.150, \"0-3\": 41.995, \"0-8\": 6.392, \"7-8\": 10.639},\n",
+    "    \"polars-bio-pd-df--pl-lf\" :   {\"0-1\": 0.177, \"0-3\": 43.369, \"0-8\": 6.241, \"7-8\": 9.688},\n",
+    "    \"polars-bio-pd-df--pd-df\" :   {\"0-1\": , \"0-3\": , \"0-8\": , \"7-8\": },\n",
     "}\n",
     "plot_metrics(\n",
     "    metrics, [\"0-1\", \"0-3\", \"0-8\",\"7-8\"], \"Overlap performance comparison\"\n",
diff --git a/polars_bio/overlap.py b/polars_bio/overlap.py
index a13daaf..0eea38d 100644
--- a/polars_bio/overlap.py
+++ b/polars_bio/overlap.py
@@ -6,9 +6,8 @@
 import pandas as pd
 import polars as pl
 import pyarrow as pa
-from jsonschema.benchmarks.subcomponents import schema
+import pyarrow.compute as pc
 from polars.io.plugins import register_io_source
-from pygments.styles.dracula import yellow
 from typing_extensions import TYPE_CHECKING, Union
 
 
@@ -26,8 +25,8 @@ def overlap(df1 : Union[str, pl.DataFrame, pl.LazyFrame, pd.DataFrame],
             how="inner",
             suffixes=("_1", "_2"),
             on_cols=None,
-            col1: Union[list[str], None]=None,
-            col2: Union[list[str], None]=None,
+            col1: Union[list[str]|None]=None,
+            col2: Union[list[str]|None]=None,
             output_type: str ="polars.LazyFrame"
             ) -> Union[pl.LazyFrame, pl.DataFrame, pd.DataFrame]:
     """
@@ -52,12 +51,15 @@ def overlap(df1 : Union[str, pl.DataFrame, pl.LazyFrame, pd.DataFrame],
     :return: **polars.LazyFrame** or polars.DataFrame or pandas.DataFrame of the overlapping intervals.
     """
 
-
-    # TODO: Add support for on_cols ()
-    assert on_cols is None, "on_cols is not supported yet"
     # TODO: Add support for col1 and col2
     assert col1 is None, "col1 is not supported yet"
     assert col2 is None, "col2 is not supported yet"
+    col1 = ["contig", "pos_start", "pos_end"] if col1 is None else col1
+    col2 = ["contig", "pos_start", "pos_end"] if col2 is None else col2
+
+    # TODO: Add support for on_cols ()
+    assert on_cols is None, "on_cols is not supported yet"
+
 
     assert suffixes == ("_1", "_2"), "Only default suffixes are supported"
     assert output_type in ["polars.LazyFrame", "polars.DataFrame", "pandas.DataFrame"], "Only polars.LazyFrame, polars.DataFrame, and pandas.DataFrame are supported"
@@ -74,7 +76,7 @@ def overlap(df1 : Union[str, pl.DataFrame, pl.LazyFrame, pd.DataFrame],
         df_schema2 = _get_schema(df2, suffixes[1])
         merged_schema = pl.Schema({**df_schema1, **df_schema2})
         if output_type == "polars.LazyFrame":
-            return scan_overlap(df1, df2, merged_schema)
+            return overlap_lazy_scan(df1, df2, merged_schema)
         elif output_type == "polars.DataFrame":
             return overlap_scan(df1, df2).to_polars()
         elif output_type == "pandas.DataFrame":
@@ -86,11 +88,16 @@ def overlap(df1 : Union[str, pl.DataFrame, pl.LazyFrame, pd.DataFrame],
             isinstance(df1, pd.DataFrame) and isinstance(df2, pd.DataFrame):
         if output_type == "polars.LazyFrame":
             merged_schema = pl.Schema({**_rename_columns(df1,suffixes[0]), **_rename_columns(df2, suffixes[1])})
-            return scan_overlap(df1, df2, merged_schema)
+            return overlap_lazy_scan(df1, df2, merged_schema, col1, col2)
         elif output_type == "polars.DataFrame":
-            return overlap_scan(df1, df2).to_polars()
+            if isinstance(df1, pl.DataFrame) and isinstance(df2, pl.DataFrame):
+                df1 = df1.to_arrow().to_reader()
+                df2 = df2.to_arrow().to_reader()
+            return overlap_frame(df1, df2).to_polars()
         elif output_type == "pandas.DataFrame":
-            return overlap_scan(df1, df2).to_pandas()
+            df1 = pa.Table.from_pandas(df1).to_reader()
+            df2 = pa.Table.from_pandas(df2).to_reader()
+            return overlap_frame(df1, df2).to_pandas()
         else:
             raise ValueError("Both dataframes must be of the same type: either polars or pandas or a path to a file")
 
@@ -123,11 +130,27 @@ def _get_schema(path: str, suffix = None ) -> pl.Schema:
     return df.schema
 
 
+# since there is an error when Pandas DF are coverted to Arrow, we need to use the following function
+# to change the type of the columns to largestring (the problem is with the string type for
+# larger datasets)
+def _string_to_largestring(table: pa.Table, column_name: str) -> pa.Table:
+    index = _get_column_index(table, column_name)
+    return table.set_column(
+        index,  # Index of the column to replace
+        table.schema.field(index).name,  # Name of the column
+        pc.cast(table.column(index), pa.large_string())  # Cast to `largestring`
+    )
+
+def _get_column_index(table, column_name):
+    try:
+        return table.schema.names.index(column_name)
+    except ValueError:
+        raise KeyError(f"Column '{column_name}' not found in the table.")
 
 
-def scan_overlap(df_1:Union[str, pl.DataFrame, pl.LazyFrame, pd.DataFrame],
-                 df_2: Union[str, pl.DataFrame, pl.LazyFrame, pd.DataFrame],
-                 schema: pl.Schema ) -> pl.LazyFrame:
+def overlap_lazy_scan(df_1:Union[str, pl.DataFrame, pl.LazyFrame, pd.DataFrame],
+                      df_2: Union[str, pl.DataFrame, pl.LazyFrame, pd.DataFrame],
+                      schema: pl.Schema, col1: list[str]=None, col2: list[str]=None) -> pl.LazyFrame:
     overlap_function = None
     if isinstance(df_1, str) and isinstance(df_2, str):
         overlap_function = overlap_scan
@@ -137,8 +160,10 @@ def scan_overlap(df_1:Union[str, pl.DataFrame, pl.LazyFrame, pd.DataFrame],
         df_2 = df_2.to_arrow().to_reader()
     elif isinstance(df_1, pd.DataFrame) and isinstance(df_2, pd.DataFrame):
         overlap_function = overlap_frame
-        df_1 = pa.Table.from_pandas(df_1).to_reader()
-        df_2 = pa.Table.from_pandas(df_2).to_reader()
+        table_1 = pa.Table.from_pandas(df_1)
+        df_1 =_string_to_largestring(table_1, col1[0]).to_reader()
+        table_2 = pa.Table.from_pandas(df_2)
+        df_2 =_string_to_largestring(table_2, col2[0]).to_reader()
     else:
         raise ValueError("Only polars and pandas dataframes are supported")
     def _overlap_source(