Feasibility of an Antimatter-Catalysed Ram Augmented Interstellar Rocket (AC-RAIR)
A fictional starship that I am designing functions via a form of Bussard ramjet that uses hydrogen from the interstellar medium as reaction mass, not as fuel.
In order to accelerate the propellant, the starship utilises a fictional mechanism by which it is able to convert a fraction of the baryons entering the drive into antimatter. The resulting annihilation provides thrust exceeding 1G, and the drive is able to sustain this thrust long enough to attain velocities of a large portion of c.
What I need to know, is whether the physics checks out. I know that the original concept of a Bussard Ramjet was not feasible since the drag produced by the scoop was greater than the thrust, but I am curious: If you had a ram augmented interstellar rocket that could convert around ~1% of incoming baryons into antimatter, would this drive be an efficient method of interstellar travel?
NOTE: The mechanism by which baryons are transformed into antimatter can be assumed to use no more energy than a reasonable sized nuclear reactor.
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