Vacuum polarization and plasma oscillations

TL;DR

This paper investigates plasma oscillations caused by vacuum polarization in electric fields below the critical strength, revealing limits on particle acceleration and implications for pair creation rates relevant to upcoming experiments.

Contribution

It provides a unified analysis of plasma oscillations for both sub-critical and super-critical electric fields, introducing new estimates of maximum Lorentz factors and oscillation lengths.

Findings

Existence of plasma oscillations in E < Ec fields.

Maximum Lorentz factor for electrons and positrons.

Oscillations reduce pair creation rate and extend production times.

Abstract

We evidence the existence of plasma oscillations of electrons-positron pairs created by the vacuum polarization in an uniform electric field with E < Ec. Our general treatment, encompassing also the traditional, well studied case of E > Ec, shows the existence in both cases of a maximum Lorentz factor acquired by electrons and positrons and allows determination of the a maximal length of oscillation. We quantitatively estimate how plasma oscillations reduce the rate of pair creation and increase the time scale of the pair production. These results are particularly relevant in view of the experimental progress in approaching the field strengths E < Ec.