Vacuum pair production under spatially asymmetric time-oscillating electric fields

TL;DR

This study explores how spatial asymmetry and temporal modulation in electric fields can significantly enhance electron-positron pair production from the vacuum, revealing optimal conditions and spectral characteristics for experimental realization.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of pair production in asymmetric, time-oscillating fields using the DHW formalism, highlighting the effects of spatial asymmetry and temporal parameters on yield.

Findings

Spatial asymmetry enhances pair production yield.

Optimal temporal tuning amplifies pair creation.

Distinct momentum spectra for multiphoton and tunneling regimes.

Abstract

We investigate electron-positron pair production from the quantum vacuum in spatially asymmetric, time-oscillating electric fields using the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner (DHW) formalism. The field configuration combines spatially separated Sauter-type pulses with temporal oscillations, including frequency chirps and phase modulation. Our results demonstrate that spatial asymmetry significantly enhances pair production compared to symmetric fields, while optimal tuning of temporal parameters (e.g., frequency $\omega$ and chirp $b$) further amplifies the yield. For $\omega \gtrsim 0.4m$, multiphoton-dominated processes generate oscillatory momentum spectra, whereas low-frequency fields ($\omega \lesssim 0.3m$) exhibit tunneling-dominated Gaussian distributions. Chirped fields induce spectral asymmetry and interference patterns, with peak yields increasing by up to a factor of 9 for $\omega = 0.7m$ and $b = 0.5\omega/\tau$. These findings provide a pathway to optimize pair production in experimentally feasible spatiotemporal field configurations.