Suppression of pair creation due to a steady magnetic field

Abstract

We investigate the electron-positron pair creation process in a supercritical static electric field in the presence of a static magnetic field that is perpendicular. If both fields vary spatially in one direction the dynamics can be reduced to a set of one-dimensional systems. Using a generalized computational quantum field theoretical procedure, we calculate the time dependence of the spatial density for the created electrons. In the presence of the magnetic field, a significant amount of suppression of pair creation is observed in the simulations and confirmed by an analytical analysis for the limits of short-range fields and long interaction times. This suppression might be interpreted in terms of Pauli blocking by the electron during its return to the creation region as it performs a cyclotronlike motion in the magnetic field.

Magnetic Control of the Pair Creation in Spatially Localized Supercritical Fields

“…However, a recent work [13] has introduced a computational algorithm that permits us to study the decay process of the vacuum for the case where the magnetic field is perpendicular to the electric field and both fields have arbitrary spatial extensions along this polarization direction. It was shown that the three dimensional dynamics can be reduced to a quasi one-dimensional set of equations.…”

Effect of polarization on the structure of electromagnetic field and spatiotemporal distribution of e + e – pairs generated by colliding laser pulses

“…(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). Figure 1 shows the fields |ReE|, |ReH|, and invariants ǫ, and η as a function of ξ for µ = −1 at z = 0 the electric and magnetic fields are parallel to each other.…”

“…It has been shown that QED effects can be experimentally studied with soon-coming laser facilities like Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) and High Power laser Energy Research (HiPER) [16]. Su et al in [17] have investigated the particle creation process in the presence of magnetic field perpendicular to the electric field. It has also been shown [18] that the magnetic field can diminish the pair production.…”

Erratum: Spatially Assisted Schwinger Mechanism and Magnetic Catalysis [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117 , 081603 (2016)]

“…It is known that a spatially modulated electric field inhibits the pair production [6]. Also, for constant magnetic fields perpendicular to the electric field, it was found the pair production decreases [30]. These questions deserve further investigations in the future.…”