Are the antiparticles for everything?

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Like how can there be an anti-particle for a neutron, if it has no charge? And can there be an “anti-person” that’s made purely of antiparticles (positrons and antiprotons)?

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6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Charge is not the only quantity which is inverted between a particle and its antiparticle. Three other notable quantities are Weak Isospin (which governs interactions with W Bosons) plus Baryon and Lepton number (both of which are conserved under the Standard Model, but may be changed under certain circumstances in certain other theories). The Neutron has Isospin -1/2, Baryon number 1 and Lepton number 0. The *anti*neutron has Isospin 1/2 and Baryon number -1.

The question of whether or not there’s antiparticles for everything is heavily dependent on semantics. The Gluon is a particle for which all “invertible” quantities are zero. From one perspective, there is no “anti-gluon” that exists distinct from the gluon. From another, the gluon is its own anti-particle.

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