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The antineutron is the antiparticle of the neutron with symbol n. It differs from the neutron only in that some of its properties have equal magnitude but opposite sign.It has the same mass as the neutron, and no net electric charge, but has opposite baryon number (+1 for neutron, −1 for the antineutron).
The antiparticle of an electron is an antielectron, which is almost always called a "positron" for historical reasons. There are six leptons in total; the three charged leptons are called "electron-like leptons", while the neutral leptons are called " neutrinos ".
The electron neutrino has a corresponding antiparticle, the electron antineutrino (ν e), which differs only in that some of its properties have equal magnitude but opposite sign. One major open question in particle physics is whether neutrinos and anti-neutrinos are the same particle.
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 .
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.
The electron neutrino was simply called the neutrino, as it was not yet known that neutrinos came in different flavours (or different "generations"). Nearly 40 years after the discovery of the electron, the muon was discovered by Carl D. Anderson in 1936. Due to its mass, it was initially categorized as a meson rather than a lepton. [26]
A neutrino (/ nj uː ˈ t r iː n oʊ / new-TREE-noh; denoted by the Greek letter ν) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. [2] [3] The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small that it was long thought to be zero.
The W bosons are known for their mediation in nuclear decay: The W − converts a neutron into a proton then decays into an electron and electron-antineutrino pair. The Z 0 does not convert particle flavor or charges, but rather changes momentum; it is the only mechanism for elastically scattering neutrinos.