Energy–momentum tensor in thermal strong-field QED with unstable vacuum

Abstract

The mean value of the one-loop energy–momentum tensor in thermal QED with an electric-like background that creates particles from vacuum is calculated. The problem is essentially different from calculations of effective actions (similar to the action of Heisenberg–Euler) in backgrounds that respect the stability of vacuum. The role of a constant electric background in the violation of both the stability of vacuum and the thermal character of particle distribution is investigated. Restrictions on the electric field and the duration over which one can neglect the back-reaction of created particles are established.