Vacuum pair-production in a classical electric field and an electromagnetic wave

TL;DR

This paper calculates the rate of electron-positron pair production from vacuum under combined classical electric fields and electromagnetic waves, exploring medium effects and potential enhancements in plasma environments.

Contribution

It introduces a semiclassical WKB-based formula for pair-production rate in combined fields and analyzes medium effects and laser-induced enhancements.

Findings

Pair-production rate is significantly enhanced by laser beams.

Medium effects depend on plasma composition and temperature.

Self-focusing in plasma can further increase pair-production rates.

Abstract

Using semiclassical WKB-methods, we calculate the rate of electron-positron pair-production from the vacuum in the presence of two external fields, a strong (space- or time-dependent) classical field and a monochromatic electromagnetic wave. We discuss the possible medium effects on the rate in the presence of thermal electrons, bosons, and neutral plasma of electrons and protons at a given temperature and chemical potential. Using our rate formula, we calculate the rate enhancement due to a laser beam, and discuss the possibility that a significant enhancement may appear in a plasma of electrons and protons with self-focusing properties.