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The positron or antielectron is the particle with an electric charge of +1e, a spin of 1/2 (the same as the electron), and the same mass as an electron. It is the antiparticle ( antimatter counterpart) of the electron .
Positron emission is mediated by the weak force. The positron is a type of beta particle (β +), the other beta particle being the electron (β −) emitted from the β − decay of a nucleus. An example of positron emission (β + decay) is shown with magnesium-23 decaying into sodium-23: 23 12 Mg → 23 11 Na + e + + ν e
The positron quickly finds an electron, and they annihilate each other. The two resulting gamma rays (γ) are detectable. The neutron can be detected by its capture on an appropriate nucleus, releasing a gamma ray. The coincidence of both events—positron annihilation and neutron capture—gives a unique signature of an antineutrino interaction.
For example, the antiparticle of the electron is the positron (also known as an antielectron). While the electron has a negative electric charge, the positron has a positive electric charge, and is produced naturally in certain types of radioactive decay. The opposite is also true: the antiparticle of the positron is the electron.
The two types of beta decay are known as beta minus and beta plus.In beta minus (β −) decay, a neutron is converted to a proton, and the process creates an electron and an electron antineutrino; while in beta plus (β +) decay, a proton is converted to a neutron and the process creates a positron and an electron neutrino. β + decay is also known as positron emission.
An electron and positron orbiting around their common centre of mass. An s state has zero angular momentum, so orbiting around each other would mean going straight at each other until the pair of particles is either scattered or annihilated, whichever occurs first. This is a bound quantum state known as positronium.
Sometimes, besides these necessary products, additional other particles that have no net charge and spin of zero (e.g., a pair of photons, or an electron-positron pair), are produced. The dominant muon decay mode (sometimes called the Michel decay after Louis Michel ) is the simplest possible: the muon decays to an electron, an electron ...
The positron annihilates with an electron to produce gamma rays. The antiproton, on the other hand, is made up of antiquarks that combine with quarks in either neutrons or protons, resulting in high-energy pions, that quickly decay into muons, neutrinos, positrons, and electrons.