Yup. The Wikipedia article on Baryogenesis provides a pretty good overview of the subject.phyzguy said:The current understanding is that there was a slight asymmetry and the universe produced slightly more matter than antimatter. Then after the matter and antimatter annihilated into photons, we were left with photons and matter. Today in the universe there are about 10^9 photons for every baryon, so it is believed that the slight asymmetry was about 1 part in 10^9. However, I believe that the cause for this slight asymmetry, that led to more matter being created than antimatter, is not fully understood.
Tanelorn said:Oldfart are you suggesting negative space and time in anti matter universe creating at the same time as ours? As in Star Trek?
Unfortunately it is something which likely can never be proven so it is just imaginative speculation.
phyzguy said:The current understanding is that there was a slight asymmetry and the universe produced slightly more matter than antimatter. Then after the matter and antimatter annihilated into photons, we were left with photons and matter. Today in the universe there are about 10^9 photons for every baryon, so it is believed that the slight asymmetry was about 1 part in 10^9. However, I believe that the cause for this slight asymmetry, that led to more matter being created than antimatter, is not fully understood.
This doesn't work with what we know about the early universe.cubzar said:My opinion:
Matter and antimatter were created in equal amounts, but gravity caused a slight abundance of matter in some regions of the universe and of antimatter in other regions. Gravity would attract matter to matter, and attract antimatter to antimatter, but repel matter from antimatter, causing matter to clump nearer to other forms of matter. Because gravity is weaker than the other forces, it would only create a small asymmetry.
cubzar said:My opinion:
Matter and antimatter were created in equal amounts, but gravity caused a slight abundance of matter in some regions of the universe and of antimatter in other regions. Gravity would attract matter to matter, and attract antimatter to antimatter, but repel matter from antimatter, causing matter to clump nearer to other forms of matter. Because gravity is weaker than the other forces, it would only create a small asymmetry.
At the end of inflation, matter and anti-matter were produced in equal quantities. Later, CP violation effects caused the amount of matter to ever so slightly exceed the amount of anti-matter, resulting in some amount of matter left over once all of the anti-matter had annihilated.Tanelorn said:Was any anti matter created at all during the big bang and inflation era?
Not atoms, no. At the time most of the annihilation was going on, our universe was a quark-gluon plasma, without even any identifiable protons or neutrons, let alone atoms. As the temperature fell, protons and neutrons condensed out of this quark-gluon plasma.Tanelorn said:Are we talking about an almost equal amount of anti protons, neutrons, hydrogen, and helium that was annihilated into energy and then back to matter/anti matter again many times until the last of the anti matter dissappeared from the universe?
Chalnoth said:At the end of inflation, matter and anti-matter were produced in equal quantities. Later, CP violation effects caused the amount of matter to ever so slightly exceed the amount of anti-matter, resulting in some amount of matter left over once all of the anti-matter had annihilated.
Not atoms, no. At the time most of the annihilation was going on, our universe was a quark-gluon plasma, without even any identifiable protons or neutrons, let alone atoms. As the temperature fell, protons and neutrons condensed out of this quark-gluon plasma.
Well, we have seen some. The degree of CP violation that we have seen so far doesn't explain the matter/anti-matter asymmetry, but the fact that we have seen some makes this a very strong candidate for explaining the matter/anti-matter asymmetry.Nicodemus said:Still need that CP violation in the lab though...
Chalnoth said:Well, we have seen some. The degree of CP violation that we have seen so far doesn't explain the matter/anti-matter asymmetry, but the fact that we have seen some makes this a very strong candidate for explaining the matter/anti-matter asymmetry.
The CP Violation Wikipedia article is pretty good for what we know about this so far:Nicodemus said:I didn't know that, and all I have to say is: cool. I do want to say, I wasn't casting aspersions on the theory, I just noted that the LHC crowd is waiting for something more, and this is one of those "mores". I gather it would be right up there with anything that has "Higgs" in the name.
Anti-matter is a type of material that is made up of particles with the same mass as regular matter, but with opposite charge. When anti-matter comes into contact with regular matter, the two particles annihilate each other, releasing a burst of energy.
Anti-matter can be produced through natural processes, such as high-energy collisions of cosmic rays in space. It can also be artificially created in particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider.
Anti-matter is important in science because it provides insight into the fundamental nature of the universe. It also has practical applications in medical imaging and cancer treatment.
It is believed that the majority of anti-matter in the universe was created during the Big Bang, but it has since been mostly annihilated with regular matter. Scientists are still investigating the exact reasons for this asymmetry between matter and anti-matter.
In small quantities, anti-matter is not dangerous. However, if a significant amount of anti-matter were to come into contact with regular matter, it could release a large amount of energy, potentially causing harm. Scientists are careful to contain and control anti-matter experiments to prevent any accidents.