Schwinger pair creation of Kaluza-Klein particles: Pair creation without tunneling

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.

arXiv commentOriginal title: "Schwinger meets Kaluza-Klein"; 30 pages, 6 figures, references added

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• A simple way to take into account back reaction on pair creation
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• Semiclassical Strings in Electric and Magnetic Fields Deformed $Ad{S}_5\times S^5$ Spacetimes
• On Schwinger Pair Creation in Gravity and in Closed Superstring Theory
• Spinning String and Giant Graviton in Electric/Magnetic Field Deformed $Ad{S}_3\times S^3\times T^4$
• Black Hole Entropy, Quantum Corrections and EFT Transitions
• On Some Information-geometric aspects of Hawking radiation
• Kaluza-Klein Schwinger effect