High School Gravitational force between matter and antimatter

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SUMMARY

The current scientific consensus indicates that the gravitational force between matter and antimatter is predicted to be attractive, as per General Relativity (GR). Despite this prediction, experimental verification remains pending. Antimatter produced to date has primarily been charged, complicating the observation of its gravitational behavior. However, neutral antimatter has been created, and ongoing experiments aim to measure its gravitational properties with improved accuracy, as highlighted in the AEgIS project reported in the CERN Courier in February 2021.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of General Relativity (GR)
  • Familiarity with particle physics concepts, particularly antimatter
  • Knowledge of experimental methods in physics
  • Awareness of electromagnetic fields and their effects on charged particles
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the AEgIS experiment at CERN for insights on antimatter gravitational studies
  • Explore the implications of General Relativity on antimatter behavior
  • Investigate the properties and production methods of neutral antimatter
  • Learn about the challenges of measuring gravitational effects on charged particles
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, researchers in particle physics, and anyone interested in the gravitational interactions of antimatter and its implications for fundamental physics.

Delta2
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What is the current scientific consensus on the gravitational force between matter and antimatter. Is it repulsive, attractive or zero?
 
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Antiparticle of photon is itself and photons attract.
 
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It is a prediction of GR than it is attractive. If it were not (and indeed, not the same as for matter) it violates conservation of energy.
 
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Yes, it is clearly predicted to be attractive, but this has not been experimentally tested yet.
 
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Dale said:
Yes, it is clearly predicted to be attractive, but this has not been experimentally tested yet.
But, we've made antimatter... didn't anybody notice if the stuff tended to fall down, or up ?
 
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hmmm27 said:
But, we've made antimatter... didn't anybody notice if the stuff tended to fall down, or up ?
No. The antimatter that we have made is charged and it is hard to get a region where the EM field is so small that you can see which way it falls under just gravity.
 
Dale said:
No. The antimatter that we have made is charged and it is hard to get a region where the EM field is so small that you can see which way it falls under just gravity.
Actually, we have made neutral antimatter, but I think that their gravitational properties haven't been studied yet.
 
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If one believes the press releases, various experiments might be getting close to measuring the gravitational properties of antimatter (compared to matter) at good accuracy. Check out the following article:

AEgIs -- Cern Courier Feb 2021
 
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