Could positrons be electrons from the future traveling back in time?

In summary, the Feynman diagrams suggest the possibility of mirror time symmetry where particles can travel forward and backward in time. However, this does not violate causality and is supported by experiments where particles and antiparticles can emerge from the vacuum and be annihilated. The concept of time reversal is not directly related to this phenomenon and the idea of matter predominating over antimatter is not fully explained by the Big Bang theory.
  • #1
ensabah6
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Could positrons be electrons from the future traveling back in time? The Feynman diagrams suggest mirror time symmetry.
 
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  • #2
Actually I think that is one possible interpretation. The interpretation is supported by the fact, that if you add "classical propagators" for particles going forward in time (retarded Green's functions for positive frequency modes) and anti-particles going backward in time (advanced Green's functions for negative frequency modes) you recover precisely the Feynman propagator [IIRC].

This may sound weird, and one should convince oneself that no causality is violated (e.g. by creating a positron now, we cannot affect an electron in the past; or something like that).
 
  • #3
FDs are 4D Fourier transforms of space and time, so there is no time variable in a FD.
Nothing is going "backward in time".
 
  • #4
This may be too limited a perspective to really answer the question, but in quantum field theory a particle and it's antiparticle (electron and positron,say) can momentarily emerge from the vacuum as a quantum fluctuation; conversely if a pair aninihilate one another the resulting photon can subsequently give rise to another particle antiparticle pair...

These are observed experimentally, I think, so I don't see anything from this that is as mysterious as traveling back in time. Furthermore, these antiparticles can be sucked into a black hole (from just outside the event horizon) where upon the mass of the black hole theoretically decreases...Haven't read anything here either about time reversal.

Would ALL antiparticles be "expected" to travel back in time if any did?? Does big bang theory have any explanations about why matter predominated over anitmatter...I don't recall how much is theorized about that...
 

FAQ: Could positrons be electrons from the future traveling back in time?

What is a positron and how is it related to electrons?

A positron is the antimatter counterpart of an electron, meaning it has the same mass and opposite charge. It is often referred to as the "antielectron."

Is it possible for positrons to be electrons from the future traveling back in time?

While it is an intriguing idea, there is currently no scientific evidence to support this theory. The laws of physics as we know them do not allow for time travel, and there is no known mechanism for electrons to travel back in time and become positrons.

What are some other explanations for the existence of positrons?

Positrons can be produced in high-energy collisions, such as those in particle accelerators, or they can be emitted by certain radioactive elements. They can also be created naturally in processes such as cosmic ray interactions.

Why do some scientists believe positrons could be electrons from the future?

Some scientists have explored the idea of time travel and the possibility of particles traveling back in time. However, this is purely theoretical and has not been proven by any empirical evidence or experiments.

Could we ever know for sure if positrons are electrons from the future?

As of now, it is impossible to know for sure without concrete evidence. While scientists continue to study the properties of positrons and explore theories of time travel, it is unlikely that we will ever be able to definitively prove or disprove this idea.

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