Do Antitachyons Travel Slower Than Light?

  • Thread starter skywolf
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In summary, tachyons are defined as all faster-than-light particles, while antitachyons would simply be the opposite of this, behaving as slower-than-light particles. However, there is debate about whether the concept of "backward in time" for these particles is just a notation or a real physical phenomenon. The positron is considered a real particle with a timelike worldline, while its antiparticle, the electron, can travel FTL on a spacelike worldline, making it a tachyon.
  • #1
skywolf
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if a tachyon travels faster than the speed of light would an antitachyon travel slower?
 
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  • #2
A tachyon defines all FTL particles, not a specific particle.

If you were to define "anti-tachyons", they would simply be our garden-variety STL electrons, protons, neutrons etc.
 
  • #3
skywolf said:
if a tachyon travels faster than the speed of light would an antitachyon travel slower?

I see your point; if the antiparticle of the electron (travelling slower than light on a timelike worldline) travels "backward in time" (according to Feynmann) i.e. FTL on a spacelike worldline, then it is a tachyon and its antiparticle is the timelike electron.

People keep telling us the "backward in time" is just notational; the difference between the electron wave function and the positron wave function in QED can be expressed by putting in t -> -t. So I don't think you can push this statement to draw conclusions from it.

The positron is visibly a real particle that leaves timelike tracks in detectors.
 

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