Electron-positron pair production in an oscillating Sauter potential

Abstract

Electron-positron pair production in an oscillating Sauter potential is investigated in the framework of the computational quantum field theory. For a Sauter potential well that oscillates both in its depth and width, the number of created pairs depends on the phase difference between the two oscillations. The optimal phase differences for different oscillation frequencies are obtained. For slow-varying fields, the phase difference has a great effect on the number of pairs, which can be explained by the instantaneous bound states and the effective interaction time. For the higher-frequency case, the phase difference effect is weakened, which is related to the enhancement of the multiphoton effect and Pauli blocking effect. Compared with a Sauter potential well with only the depth in oscillations, this model can generate more pairs at the same frequency. These results can provide a theoretical reference for the experimental creation of the electron-positron pairs.