Observing antiquark annihilation

[gtring]

When looking for antimatter, we generally look for the electron vs. positron signature of 511 keV. It is my understanding that quarks are always confined in hadrons, and that they are held together by gluons. My questions:
- Can quarks be removed from their confinement so that they may annihilate against antiquarks?
- Could these events be observed in the universe? If so, what would be its signature?

Cheers,
--Jake

 

[mathman]

When looking for antimatter, we generally look for the electron vs. positron signature of 511 keV. It is my understanding that quarks are always confined in hadrons, and that they are held together by gluons. My questions:
- Can quarks be removed from their confinement so that they may annihilate against antiquarks?
- Could these events be observed in the universe? If so, what would be its signature?

Cheers,
--Jake

All current theory and experimental evidence indicates that the answer to your first question is no. Mesons are quark-antiquark pairs so their decay might provide an answer to your second question.