====== The Antimatter Problem ======

According to [[content:physics:cosmology:big_bang|Big Bang Theory]], matter and anti-matter should have been created in equal amounts at the 'beginning' of the Universe. And, in experiments with high-energy particle accelerators, that is exactly what happens. Baryons (i.e. 'heavy' particles such as neutrons, protons, and their constituent quarks) and their anti-particle equivalents (anti-baryons) are created in equal numbers.

It's currently estimated, however, that (in 'natural' conditions outside the laboratory) :

>The Standard Mode prediction for the ratio of baryons over antibaryons  deviates from the astrophysical observations by eight orders of magnitude." \\ \\ Source; [[http://inspirehep.net/record/1599188/files/PoS(INPC2016)177.pdf|Proceedings, 26th International Nuclear Physics Conference (INPC2016)]]

There could be areas of the universe where antimatter dominates - but no observations have so far identified regions in space where antimatter and matter encounter each other - catastrophic zones which would be easily detectable due to the radiation that would be produced.

To compound the mystery :

>Theories that explain this apparent asymmetry violate other measurements." \\ \\ Source : [[http://ams.nasa.gov/about.html|NASA AMS-02 project]].

//Further reading:// [[https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16780-antimatter-mysteries-1-where-is-all-the-antimatter/|New Scientist]] //,// April 2009

//For technical info, see :// [[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/335/1/012008/pdf|Baryogenesis and Leptogenesis]]{{:oa_padlock_grn.png?16&nolink|open access}} J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 335, 012008

=== Matter/antimatter asymmetry tests at CERN ===

New research conducted at CERN has attempted to find fundamental differences between protons and anti-protons. Without success. Finding asymmetries could explain how one form (matter) is dominant in the universe.

See: [[http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/aktuell/3027_ENG_HTML.php|Riddle of matter remains unsolved: Proton and antiproton share fundamental properties ]] Press release, //Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz//, Oct. 2017

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Also see : [[content:other:resolved:antimatter_gravity]]

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