13,795 research outputs found
Multiple colliding electromagnetic pulses: a way to lower the threshold of pair production from vacuum
The scheme of simultaneous multiple pulse focusing on one spot naturally
arises from the structural features of projected new laser systems, such as ELI
and HiPER. It is shown that the multiple pulse configuration is beneficial for
observing pair production from vacuum under the action of sufficiently
strong electromagnetic fields. The field of the focused pulses is described
using a realistic three-dimensional model based on an exact solution of the
Maxwell equations. The pair production threshold in terms of
electromagnetic field energy can be substantially lowered if, instead of one or
even two colliding pulses, multiple pulses focused on one spot are used. The
multiple pulse interaction geometry gives rise to subwavelength field features
in the focal region. These features result in the production of extremely short
bunches.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Fermion Pair Production From an Electric Field Varying in Two Dimensions
The Hamiltonian describing fermion pair production from an arbitrarily
time-varying electric field in two dimensions is studied using a
group-theoretic approach. We show that this Hamiltonian can be encompassed by
two, commuting SU(2) algebras, and that the two-dimensional problem can
therefore be reduced to two one-dimensional problems. We compare the group
structure for the two-dimensional problem with that previously derived for the
one-dimensional problem, and verify that the Schwinger result is obtained under
the appropriate conditions.Comment: Latex, 14 pages of text. Full postscript version available via the
worldwide web at http://nucth.physics.wisc.edu/ or by anonymous ftp from
ftp://nucth.physics.wisc.edu:/pub/preprints
Multidimensional Worldline Instantons
We extend the worldline instanton technique to compute the vacuum pair
production rate for spatially inhomogeneous electric background fields, with
the spatial inhomogeneity being genuinely two or three dimensional, both for
the magnitude and direction of the electric field. Other techniques, such as
WKB, have not been applied to such higher dimensional problems. Our method
exploits the instanton dominance of the worldline path integral expression for
the effective action.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figure
Electron-Positron Pair Production in Space- or Time-Dependent Electric Fields
Treating the production of electron and positron pairs by a strong electric
field from the vacuum as a quantum tunneling process we derive, in
semiclassical approximation, a general expression for the pair production rate
in a -dependent electric field pointing in the -direction. We also
allow for a smoothly varying magnetic field parallel to . The result is
applied to a confined field for , a
semi-confined field for , and a linearly increasing
field . The boundary effects of the confined fields on
pair-production rates are exhibited. A simple variable change in all formulas
leads to results for electric fields depending on time rather than space.
In addition, we discuss tunneling processes in which empty atomic bound
states are spontaneously filled by negative-energy electrons from the vacuum
under positron emission. In particular, we calculate the rate at which the
atomic levels of a bare nucleus of finite size and large
are filled by spontaneous pair creation.Comment: 33 pages and 9 figures. to appear in Phys. Rev.
Polarization of the electron and positron produced in combined Coulomb and strong laser fields
The process of production in the superposition of a Coulomb and a
strong laser field is considered. The pair production rate integrated over the
momentum and summed over the spin projections of one of the particles is
derived exactly in the parameters of the laser field and in the Born
approximation with respect to the Coulomb field. The case of a monochromatic
circularly polarized laser field is considered in detail. A very compact
analytical expression of the pair production rate and its dependence on the
polarization of one of the created particles is obtained in the quasiclassical
approximation for the experimentally relevant case of an undercritical laser
field. As a result, the polarization of the created electron (positron) is
derived.Comment: 16 pages, no figure
Critical nucleus charge in a superstrong magnetic field: effect of screening
A superstrong magnetic field stimulates the spontaneous production of
positrons by naked nuclei by diminishing the value of the critical charge
Z_{cr} . The phenomenon of screening of the Coulomb potential by a superstrong
magnetic field which has been discovered recently acts in the opposite
direction and prevents the nuclei with Z52
for a nucleus to become critical stronger B are needed than without taking
screening into account.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, version to be published in Physical Review
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