The Search for the Schwinger Effect: Non-perturbative Pair Production from Vacuum

by Gerald Dunne (University of Connecticut)

Tuesday 9 Jul 2013, 17:00 → 18:00 Europe/Berlin

Auditorium (DESY Hamburg)

The prospect of next-generation ultra-high-intensity laser sources has prompted recent renewed study of the Schwinger effect, in which the instability of the QED vacuum is probed by external fields. Experimental observation of this long-sought effect would provide controlled access to non-perturbative processes in quantum field theory under extreme conditions, which is of direct interest in particle physics and astrophysical applications. I review why this is also such an interesting and challenging theoretical problem.

Poster Physikseminar_dunne-1-_9July2013.pdf

Slides dunne.pdf