arXiv subjects

Johannes Oertel

Publications and source records attributed to Johannes Oertel.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Sauter-Schwinger effect for colliding laser pulses

Via a combination of analytical and numerical methods, we study electron-positron pair creation by the electromagnetic field ${\bf A}(t,{\bf r})=[f(ct-x)+f(ct+x)]{\bf e}_y$ of two colliding laser pulses. Employing a generalized WKB approach, we find that the pair creation rate along the symmetry plane $x=0$ (where one would expect the maximum contribution) displays the same exponential dependence as for a purely time-dependent electric field ${\bf A}(t)=2f(ct){\bf e}_y$. The pre-factor in front of this exponential does also contain corrections due to focusing or de-focusing effects induced by the spatially inhomogeneous magnetic field. We compare our analytical results to numerical simulations using the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner method and find good agreement.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

WKB approach to pair creation in spacetime-dependent fields

Besides tunneling in static potential landscapes, for example, the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approach is a powerful nonperturbative approximation tool to study particle creation due to time-dependent background fields, such as cosmological particle production or the Sauter-Schwinger effect, i.e., electron-positron pair creation in a strong electric field. However, our understanding of particle creation processes in background fields depending on both space and time is rather incomplete. In order to venture into this direction, we propose a generalization of the WKB method to truly spacetime-dependent fields and apply it to the case of a spacetime-dependent mass.

hep-th↗

arXiv2017

Dynamically assisted Sauter-Schwinger effect - non-perturbative versus perturbative aspects

The Sauter-Schwinger effect predicts the creation of electron-positron pairs out of the quantum vacuum by a strong and slowly varying electric field. This effect can be dynamically assisted by an additional weaker time-dependent field, which may drastically enhance the pair-creation probability. In previous studies, it has been found that the enhancement may crucially depend on the temporal shape of this weaker pulse, e.g., a Gaussian profile $\exp\{-(ωt)^2\}$ or a Sauter pulse $1/\cosh^2(ωt)$ behave quite differently. In order to understand this difference, we make a perturbative expansion in terms of the weaker field while treating the strong electric field non-perturbatively. For a large class of profiles including the Sauter pulse, already the sum of the zeroth-order and the first-order amplitudes of this perturbative expansion yields good agreement. For other cases, such as a Gaussian or sinusoidal profile, this is not true in general and higher orders can yield the dominant contribution - where the dominant order depends on the chosen parameters. Our findings are confirmed by numerical simulations and help us to sort previous results into a bigger picture.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Doubly assisted Sauter-Schwinger effect

We study electron-positron pair creation by a strong and slowly varying electric field, assisted by a weaker and more rapidly changing field (e.g., in the keV regime) plus an additional high-energy (say MeV) photon. It turns out that this combination can yield a pair creation probability which is exponentially larger than in the case where one (or more) of the three ingredients is missing. Apart from a deeper understanding of these non-perturbative phenomena, this double enhancement may pave the way for an experimental verification of this fundamental prediction.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Inverse approach to solutions of the Dirac equation for space-time dependent fields

Exact solutions of the Dirac equation in external electromagnetic background fields are very helpful for understanding non-perturbative phenomena in quantum electrodynamics (QED). However, for the limited set of known solutions, the field often depends on one coordinate only, which could be the time $t$, a spatial coordinate such as $x$ or $r$, or a light-cone coordinate such as $ct-x$. By swapping the roles of known and unknown quantities in the Dirac equation, we are able to generate families of solutions of the Dirac equation in the presence of genuinely space-time dependent electromagnetic fields in $1+1$ and $2+1$ dimensions.

hep-th↗