Formation and Evolution of Antimatter Objects

TL;DR

This paper explores the theoretical formation and evolution of antimatter objects in the early Universe, proposing that antimatter domains could have collapsed into massive antistars similar to ordinary stars.

Contribution

It presents a symmetric treatment of antimatter gas cloud dynamics and demonstrates the physical plausibility of antimatter star formation under early Universe conditions.

Findings

Antimatter domains can gravitationally collapse into dense objects.

Collapse conditions satisfy Jeans and Bonnor-Ebert criteria.

Potential formation of massive antistars (>22 solar masses).

Abstract

The fundamental question of baryogenesis and the problem of matter-antimatter asymmetry motivate this study into the formation and evolution of antimatter objects in the early Universe. Hypothesize is the existence of isolated antimatter domains in a baryon-asymmetric Universe that survive until the era of first star formation ($Z \approx 20$). By assuming CPT-symmetry, the thermodynamics, mechanics, and energy dynamics of an antimatter gas cloud (composed of antihydrogen and antihelium) are treated symmetrically to their primordial matter counterparts. Analysis demonstrates the physical feasibility of the gravitational collapse process for a conservatively estimated antimatter domain ($\approx 5 \times 10^3 M_{\odot}$). The initial conditions easily satisfy the Jeans and Bonnor-Ebert mass criteria, indicating a high propensity for instability and runaway collapse. The subsequent dynamical evolution, driven by $\bar{H}_2$ cooling, is predicted to proceed identically to that of Population III star formation, leading to the formation of a dense, adiabatic anti-protostellar core. The theoretical viability of a true antistar hinges upon a critical assumption: the physical possibility of antinuclear fusion (e.g., the antiproton cycle) under extreme core conditions. Assuming this symmetry holds, the collapse is predicted to yield massive antistars ($\gtrsim 22 M_{\odot}$). This suggests that if antimatter domains formed in the early Universe, they likely underwent stellar formation. Observational constraints on the existence of these objects must rely on the detection of characteristic high-energy $\gamma$-ray or X-ray signals resulting from matter-antimatter annihilation at the domain boundaries or during mass accretion.