Finite temperature Schwinger pair production in coexistent electric and magnetic fields

Mrunal Korwar,Arun M Thalapillil

doi:10.1103/physrevd.98.076016

Abstract

We compute Schwinger pair production rates at finite temperature, in the presence of homogeneous, concurrent electric and magnetic fields. Expressions are obtained using the semiclassical worldline instanton formalism, to leading order, for spin-$0$ and spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ particles. The derived results are valid for weak coupling and fields. We thereby extend previous seminal results in the literature, to coexistent electric and magnetic fields, and fermions.

Highlights

The nonperturbative pair production of electrically and magnetically charged particles in the background of large field strengths has garnered much interest and study over the years
The origins of the method may be traced to ideas by Fock [11], Nambu [12], and the Feynman worldline representation of one-loop effective actions [13,14]
When the magnetic field vanishes (B → 0), in the case of scalar quantum electrodynamics (SQED), the results are seen to relapse into the known expressions for pure homogeneous electric fields, computed recently [41]

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The nonperturbative pair production of electrically and magnetically charged particles in the background of large field strengths has garnered much interest and study over the years. We compute leading order thermal corrections, using worldline path integral techniques, to the nonperturbative vacuum decay rates when there are coexistent electric and magnetic fields. When the magnetic field vanishes (B → 0), in the case of scalar quantum electrodynamics (SQED), the results are seen to relapse into the known expressions for pure homogeneous electric fields, computed recently [41]. For homogeneous fields with E⃗ 0 · B⃗ 0 1⁄4 0, but the fields not equal in magnitude, a reference frame may be found where the transformed field is purely electric or magnetic [49] In this latter scenario, the relevant expressions are those of single field Schwinger pair production. Even for the zero temperature cases, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that an explicit and complete derivation is being presented for vacuum decay rates, when EkB, using worldline instanton techniques.

THERMAL PAIR PRODUCTION FOR EkB IN SQED

THERMAL PAIR PRODUCTION FOR EkB IN QED

SUMMARY