Antiparticle

The Swedish physicist Hans Alfvén has studied in some detail the possible role of antiparticles in the creation of the universe. At first glance, one would assume that the number of koinoparticles and antiparticles produced during the big bang would be equal. As it happens, however, the way in which the two classes of particles decay is very slightly different, a difference that would have become more and more important as the nascent universe aged during the first second of creation. Eventually, the very small difference in decay properties between particles might have produced a larger and larger difference, with koinomatter finally winning a predominance in terms of numbers throughout the universe. Until and if scientists can learn more about the presence of antimatter in other parts of the universe, however, questions such as these will remain unanswered.