Plasma dynamics at the Schwinger limit and beyond

TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex interplay between quantum and classical plasma nonlinearities under ultra-strong electric fields near the Schwinger limit, emphasizing the effects of initial plasma conditions on oscillation dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of plasma behavior at extreme fields using the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner formalism, highlighting the combined influence of quantum pair creation and classical effects.

Findings

Initial plasma density significantly affects oscillation patterns.

Temperature influences the stability and evolution of plasma oscillations.

Quantum and classical effects jointly determine plasma response at high fields.

Abstract

Strong field physics close to or above the Schwinger limit are typically studied with vacuum as initial condition, or by considering test particle dynamics. However, with a plasma present initially, quantum relativistic mechanisms such as Schwinger pair-creation are complemented by classical plasma nonlinearities. In this work we use the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner formalism to study the interplay between classical and quantum mechanical mechanisms for ultra-strong electric fields. In particular, the effects of initial density and temperature on the plasma oscillation dynamics are determined.