Schwinger mechanism revisited

François Gelis (1) , Naoto Tanji (2)

1 IPHT - Institut de Physique Théorique - UMR CNRS 3681
2 Universität Heidelberg [Heidelberg] = Heidelberg University

In this article, we review recent theoretical works on the Schwingermechanism of particle production in external electrical fields. Although the non-perturbative Schwinger mechanism is at the center of this discussion, many of the approaches that we discuss can cope with general time and space dependent fields, and therefore also capture the perturbative contributions to particle production.

Domaines: Physique des Hautes Energies - Phénoménologie [hep-ph]; Physique des Hautes Energies - Théorie [hep-th]; Physique Nucléaire Théorique [nucl-th]

François Gelis, Naoto Tanji. Schwinger mechanism revisited. Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, 2016, ⟨10.1016/j.ppnp.2015.11.001⟩. ⟨cea-01280446⟩