Question

Question #03070

Answer 1

`n + e^+ -> p + bar v_e`

Explanation:

A neutron and positron interact in the following way

`n + e^+ -> p + bar v_e`

producing a proton and an anti-electron neutrino.

The proton conserves charge, as the neutron has `0` charge, the positron is `-1` (negative because it is antimatter), the proton is `+1` and the neutrino is `0`, like the positron, as is is an anti-neutrino, not simply a neutrino.

The neutrino is produced to conserve lepton number, as both proton and neutron have lepton numbers of `0` and baryon numbers of `1`, hence baryon number is also conserved.

By thinking about all of these conserved quantities, you can deduce what must be produced on the right side of the equation.