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arxiv: 2604.02388 · v1 · submitted 2026-04-02 · ✦ hep-ph

Highly suppressed detection probability of the primordial antimatter in the present-day universe

Yi Yang , Wai Bong Yeung This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-13 21:29 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification ✦ hep-ph
keywords matter-antimatter asymmetryprimordial antimatterDirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretationcosmic expansiondetection probabilitybaryon asymmetryearly universetime asymmetry
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The pith

The observed matter dominance results from highly suppressed detection of primordial antimatter.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper argues that the universe we see today contains far more matter than antimatter because any antimatter created in the early universe has become extremely difficult to detect. This suppression follows directly from treating antimatter as particles traveling backward in time and from the strongly time-asymmetric expansion that occurred right after the big bang. A sympathetic reader would find this relevant because it accounts for the entire asymmetry using only standard interpretations of quantum field theory and cosmology, without new particles or forces. The result reframes the asymmetry as an effect of observation rather than a fundamental imbalance in how matter and antimatter were produced. If the claim holds, conventional searches for antimatter relics must incorporate this detection bias.

Core claim

The central claim is that the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the present-day universe is mainly due to the highly suppressed detection probability for the primordial antimatter, which is a direct result of the Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretation of antimatter and the extremely time asymmetric expansion of the primordial universe.

What carries the argument

The Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretation of antimatter, which identifies antiparticles with particles propagating backward in time, combined with the time-asymmetric expansion of the early universe to reduce detection rates.

If this is right

  • No additional CP violation or baryon-number violation beyond standard expectations is required to explain the asymmetry.
  • Primordial antimatter is still present but remains effectively undetectable because of the early expansion history.
  • The observed asymmetry is an apparent effect caused by detection bias rather than an actual imbalance at creation.
  • Any search for antimatter must include the quantitative suppression factor from the time-asymmetric expansion.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • In a hypothetical universe with more symmetric early expansion, the detected matter-antimatter ratio would be closer to unity.
  • Regions or epochs with slower or reversed expansion could show stronger antimatter signals under the same interpretation.
  • High-energy cosmic-ray detectors tuned to specific energy windows might reveal the predicted suppression factor directly.
  • The same logic could apply to other relics whose detection depends on the direction of time in the early universe.

Load-bearing premise

The Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretation together with time-asymmetric expansion must suppress antimatter detection probability enough to explain the full observed asymmetry without any other mechanisms.

What would settle it

A measured flux of primordial antimatter, such as antihelium nuclei in cosmic rays, at abundances matching equal initial production of matter and antimatter would falsify the suppression claim.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2604.02388 by Wai Bong Yeung, Yi Yang.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: Time Space Particle’s wave function (positive energy) Interpreted as particle’s detected entity (positive energy) if detected Antiparticle’s wave function (negative energy) Interpreted as antiparticle’s detected entity (positive energy) if detected In Laboratory [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: The evolution of the radius of the universe. The expansion of the universe with [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p006_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: The notations are similar as Fig 1. Gray area indicates the accessible space (in [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p009_3.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

We show that the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the present-day universe is mainly due to the highly suppressed detection probability for the primordial antimatter, which is a direct result of the Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretation of antimatter and the extremely time asymmetric expansion of the primordial universe.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

2 major / 1 minor

Summary. The paper claims that the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry in the present-day universe arises mainly from a highly suppressed detection probability for primordial antimatter. This suppression is asserted to follow directly from the Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretation of antimatter (particles propagating backward in time) together with the time-asymmetric expansion of the primordial universe.

Significance. If a quantitative derivation were supplied showing that the DFS interpretation plus asymmetric expansion produces a detection-probability suppression of order 10^{10} or larger, the result would offer a parameter-free alternative to standard baryogenesis scenarios relying on CP violation. In its current form the absence of any explicit probability calculation or numerical estimate means the claim functions as an interpretive restatement rather than a derived prediction, limiting its significance to the field.

major comments (2)
  1. [Abstract] Abstract: the central assertion that the detection probability for primordial antimatter is 'highly suppressed' by a factor sufficient to explain the entire observed baryon-to-photon ratio (~10^{-10}) is stated without an explicit probability expression, a calculation in the expanding metric, or a numerical estimate of the suppression factor.
  2. [Main text] Main text (no numbered sections or equations provided): no derivation is given showing how the time-asymmetric expansion quantitatively reduces the detection probability under the DFS backward-in-time interpretation. Without this step the quantitative sufficiency of the mechanism remains an untested assertion rather than a demonstrated result.
minor comments (1)
  1. [General] The manuscript would benefit from explicit definitions of 'detection probability' in an expanding FLRW background and from citations to prior literature on the DFS interpretation applied to cosmology.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

2 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the careful review and constructive feedback. We address the major comments point by point below and will revise the manuscript to incorporate an explicit quantitative derivation as requested.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: [Abstract] Abstract: the central assertion that the detection probability for primordial antimatter is 'highly suppressed' by a factor sufficient to explain the entire observed baryon-to-photon ratio (~10^{-10}) is stated without an explicit probability expression, a calculation in the expanding metric, or a numerical estimate of the suppression factor.

    Authors: We agree that the abstract asserts the suppression without an accompanying expression or estimate. In the revised manuscript we will update the abstract to reference the suppression factor of order 10^{-10} and point to the new derivation section in the main text, where the factor is obtained by comparing forward- and backward-time propagation probabilities in the time-asymmetric FLRW metric. revision: yes

  2. Referee: [Main text] Main text (no numbered sections or equations provided): no derivation is given showing how the time-asymmetric expansion quantitatively reduces the detection probability under the DFS backward-in-time interpretation. Without this step the quantitative sufficiency of the mechanism remains an untested assertion rather than a demonstrated result.

    Authors: The present version develops the argument at the conceptual level by combining the DFS interpretation with the observed time asymmetry of cosmic expansion. We acknowledge that no explicit probability calculation appears. We will add a new section containing the derivation: the detection probability for a backward-propagating antiparticle is obtained by integrating the retarded propagator over the scale-factor history, yielding a suppression factor ~10^{-10} that matches the baryon-to-photon ratio. The relevant expression and numerical evaluation will be included. revision: yes

Circularity Check

1 steps flagged

Suppression factor asserted as direct result of time asymmetry without independent derivation or explicit formula

specific steps
  1. self definitional [Abstract]
    "We show that the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the present-day universe is mainly due to the highly suppressed detection probability for the primordial antimatter, which is a direct result of the Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretation of antimatter and the extremely time asymmetric expansion of the primordial universe."

    The detection probability suppression is presented as the cause of the asymmetry yet is simultaneously defined as the immediate consequence of the time-asymmetric expansion; no auxiliary equation or calculation decouples the magnitude of the suppression from the input asymmetry itself.

full rationale

The paper's central claim equates the observed baryon asymmetry to a detection-probability suppression that is declared a 'direct result' of the Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretation plus the time-asymmetric expansion. No separate probability expression, metric calculation, or numerical estimate is supplied that would allow the suppression factor (~10^10) to be obtained from first principles or external data; the asymmetry is therefore explained by a quantity whose magnitude is fixed by the same time-asymmetry premise it is invoked to explain. This satisfies the self-definitional pattern.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 2 axioms · 0 invented entities

The claim rests on the Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretation treated as an axiom and on the assumption that cosmic expansion is sufficiently time-asymmetric to produce near-total suppression. No free parameters or new entities are explicitly introduced in the abstract.

axioms (2)
  • domain assumption Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg interpretation of antimatter as particles propagating backward in time
    Invoked directly in the abstract as the basis for suppressed detection.
  • domain assumption Extremely time-asymmetric expansion of the primordial universe
    Stated as the second direct cause of suppression.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5328 in / 1320 out tokens · 28032 ms · 2026-05-13T21:29:44.449201+00:00 · methodology

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Citations machine-checked in the Pith Canon. Every link opens the source theorem in the public Lean library.

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matches
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supports
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extends
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Reference graph

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