Particle/antiparticle pair production.

sherr1ngton

There's something I've been wondering about.

When particle/antiparticle pairs are produced they annihilate very quickly. This seems to imply that they interact with each other but is this always the case.

As I understand it, the space between the molecules in the air is empty, or rather that there are regions of the vaccuum of space that the air is mixed into. Without the atmosphere, the vaccuum of space would be touching the ground. Like on the moon.

What I'm wondering is, does particle pair production occur in the space that is close to space occupied by matter?

Suppose an electron/positron pair spontaneously appeared near an oxygen atom. Could the positron annihilate with an electron in the oxygen atom, ionising it? Would the new electron replace the old one or would it be free?

If it could happen, how often is that type of thing likely to happen?

Lbeard

sherr1ngton wrote: »

When particle/antiparticle pairs are produced they annihilate very quickly. This seems to imply that they interact with each other but is this always the case.

They always annihilate each other. Energy is conserved. A positron and electron pair will annihilate and the will be no net energy produced.

As I understand it, the space between the molecules in the air is empty, or rather that there are regions of the vaccuum of space that the air is mixed into. Without the atmosphere, the vaccuum of space would be touching the ground. Like on the moon.

What I'm wondering is, does particle pair production occur in the space that is close to space occupied by matter?

I'm not an expert on this, but pair production and annihilation is theoretically happening everywhere all the time.

Suppose an electron/positron pair spontaneously appeared near an oxygen atom. Could the positron annihilate with an electron in the oxygen atom, ionising it? Would the new electron replace the old one or would it be free?

By ionising you mean popping off one of the electrons. I think this theoretically meant to happen, but it's done with zero net energy, so if a created electron popped off the already existing electron - or to put it a different way, if the create positron annihilates the existing electron, then the newly created electron will take its' place, but no new net energy will be produced.

If it could happen, how often is that type of thing likely to happen?

I'd be curious to know the limits myself. An argument I have heard against the quantum fluctuation theory of the big bang, is that if the quantum fluctuations are producing and annihilating energy, then due Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the energies produced in the Planck length are infinitely huge. There are other curious problems with this, why aren't we seeing spontaneous mini-universes, or maxi-universes appear all the time. Are the dimensions of our universe limited by something that stops this happening. If time and the other dimensions are fluctuations due to Heisenbergs principle - there may be a reason that to the outside observer our universe doesn't exist, or that it exists and annihilates itself at such infinite speed, it's existence is unobservable.