Do anti-particles have opposite parity?

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SUMMARY

Anti-particles possess opposite charge and conservation numbers compared to their corresponding particles, but their parity is not universally opposite. While mesons and their anti-mesons share the same parity, baryons exhibit opposite parity to their anti-baryons. The parity of mesons, defined as q-qbar bound states, is influenced by both the intrinsic properties of quarks and their orbital wavefunction. Additionally, fermions have relative parity, which complicates the application of charge conjugation (C) when discussing particle-antiparticle relationships.

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  • Understanding of quantum numbers and charge conjugation in particle physics
  • Familiarity with mesons, baryons, and their intrinsic properties
  • Knowledge of spin and orbital wavefunctions in quantum mechanics
  • Basic concepts of parity and its implications in particle interactions
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johne1618
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Hi,

I understand that anti-particles have the opposite charge to particles.

Do anti-particles have the opposite parity to particles as well?

John
 
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Anti-particles have not only charge, but all their conservation numbers, among them charge and parity, opposite to their "normal" particles.
 
Thanks!
 
Actually, is that right?

I looked on hyperphysics and it said only the "internal" quantum numbers are reversed under charge conjugation not the spatial coordinates.

John
 
johne1618 said:
I looked on hyperphysics and it said only the "internal" quantum numbers are reversed under charge conjugation not the spatial coordinates.
Sure! You're right. I gave too quick answer...
Parity of compound particle (e.g. hadrons) is composed (multiplicatively) of internal parities of quarks and the parity of their relative geometry. The last do not differ from particle to anti-particle.
So both mesons and their anti-mesons have same parity (-1^{spin+1}). Baryons, as composed of 3 quarks, have parity +1, while their counterparts have -1.
 
So both mesons and their anti-mesons have same parity (−1)spin+1
Still too quick. There are plenty of mesons that obey this rule, and plenty more that do not. The spin-parity of a meson includes contributions from both the intrinsic properties of the quarks and the orbital wavefunction as well. Take a look at a list of the charmonium and bottomonium states.
 
The parity of meson considered as q-qbar bound states is (-1)^L+1.
The spin of the meson equals L if the q-qbar are in a spin zero state, but can be different if the q-qbar are in a spin 1 state. Gauge bosons have negative intrinsic parity.
The parity of a boson antiparticle is the same as the particle.
 
Fermions have only relative parity. For instance, the intrinsic relative parity of the proton and antiproton is negative.
 
So, when in texts it refers to applying charge conjuction (C) as replacing a particle with its antiparticle... this isn't strictly true? As particles whose antiparticle has opposite parity, would need you to apply CP to the particle to get the antiparticle?
 
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An antimeson has the same parity as the corresponding meson.
A fermion.s only has relative parity with another fermion or its antifermion.
The relative parity of the proton and antiproton is negative.
The relative parity of the nucleon and the and the Delta is positive.
Relative parity of a nucleon and the Lambda cannot be defined because parity is not conserved in Lambda decay.
 

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