Is neutron decay a purely electromagnetic phenomenon?

Question

Until reading the Phys.SE post here about the neutron decay I never feel strange the fact about the antisymmetricity of this decay. But indeed why this decay is antisymmetric. The neutron is his own antiparticle, and this is without any restriction.

Could I suppose that the phenomena has a purely electromagnetic cause? Put a neutron into an environment of positrons, will the result of the neutron decay be an antiproton, a positron and a neutrino? And if this is right, will an ordinary positive charged environment give the same result?

Comment: The question is not about the process of the decay which is explainable with the weak nuclear force. It's about the hidden parameters, which bring the neutron to the decay.

Answer 1

Neutron decay is not an electromagnetic phenomenon at all. It is governed by the weak nuclear force. This is well supported by fact that the lifetime of the neutron fits neatly into weak universality, by the energy distribution of neutron decay products, and by the fact that anti-neutrino initiated "inverse beta decay" can be shown to be proportional to the power of nearby nuclear reactors or to beam intensity in accelerator experiments.

Secondly the neutron is not it's own antiparticle. The anti-neutron is a distinct particle.

Answer 2

The neutron decay is a weak phenomenon because it uses the W- boson. However there might be some electromagnetic characteristics because the W boson could scatter of photons but that does not mean the decay itself is an electromagnetic decay. It is a weak decay. Also a neutron turns into a proton, electron and electron antineutrino.