An international team of scientists has discovered that pulsars are not the source of an excessive number of positrons (antiparticles for electrons) that come to Earth from the limits of the solar system. The study is published in Science, reports the University of Maryland (USA). Observations carried out at the HAWC (High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory) in Mexico showed that from the pulsars Geminga and PSR B0656 + 14, a sufficient number of positrons do not reach the Earth. Previously, these objects were considered the most probable source of the excess positron content in the upper atmosphere, first detected in 2008. Scientists believe that Geminga and PSR B0656 + 14 are surrounded by a cloud of matter that absorbs radiation from pulsars, in particular positrons. Experts do not know what can be the source of an excessive number of positrons reaching the Earth. It is not excluded that the origin of antielectrons is due to dark matter. Hypothetical dark matter participates in gravitational, but not electromagnetic, interaction. It accounts for about a quarter of the mass-energy of the universe. The nature of particles from which dark matter is formed is unknown to scientists.

Original article: Unknown matter is called the source of antimatter on Earth.