3 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: What causes the mutual annihilation of matter-antimatter reactions?
I am using a lot of imagination to fill in the blanks of actual nuclear physics knowledge, but: I can imagine what you're saying that many different reactions are possible and all happening probabilistically. After annihilation, the two protons depart in opposite directions at light speed. This seems highly unlikely to spontaneously reverse. So is the proton-generating annihilation just an event that is irreversible and thus the event that, on average, eventually happens?
(Focusing on electron-positron)
Comment by mfb- at 22/11/2024 at 03:05 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Two photons with sufficient energy can collide and produce electron/positron pairs (and all other particles). We have observed that process.
Comment by agaminon22 at 21/11/2024 at 23:54 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Partially yes, other events may be harder to detect and may result ultimately in photon production. But AFAIK photon production is also more likely in general (especially at lower energies).