Vacuum Decay Time in Strong External Fields

TL;DR

This paper investigates the timescale for vacuum decay and particle production in strong electromagnetic fields, particularly in the context of short pulse laser experiments, by defining and evaluating an invariant 'materialization time' for energy conversion.

Contribution

It introduces and evaluates the invariant 'materialization time' as a key measure for vacuum decay dynamics in intense laser fields, linking theoretical concepts with experimental time scales.

Findings

Defined the invariant 'materialization time' for vacuum decay.

Compared vacuum decay timescale with laser pulse durations.

Provided insights into particle production in strong fields.

Abstract

We consider dynamics of vacuum decay and particle production in the context of short pulse laser experiments. We identify and evaluate the invariant "materialization time," $\tau$, the timescale for the conversion of an electromagnetic field energy into particles, and we compare to the laser related time scales.