Schwinger meets Kaluza-Klein
Year: 2002
Type: preprint
Abstract: We study Schwinger pair creation of charged Kaluza-Klein particles from a static KK electric field. We find that the gravitational backreaction of the electric field on the geometry - which is incorporated via the electric KK Melvin solution - prevents the electrostatic potential from overcoming the rest mass of the KK particles, thus impeding the tunneling mechanism which is often thought of as responsible for the pair creation. However, we find that pair creation still occurs with a finite rate formally similar to the classic Schwinger result, but via an apparently different mechanism, involving a combination of the Unruh effect and vacuum polarization due to the E-field.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Tamar Friedmann, Herman Verlinde
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2898780837