2021-12-08 15:00  P5A-1

[Journal Club] Axion assisted Schwinger effect

Patrick Copinger

The effects of introducing an axion to the Schwinger effect is discussed. It is found with a time dependent axion background field coupled to the usual electric field, E, an enhancement to the Schwinger pair production rate is achievable. An axion velocity permits a coupling between the fermion momentum and spin enabling the enhanced rate. For fermion mass, m, and transverse to electric field momentum, p_T, the standard pair production suppression of exp(−π(m^2+(p_T)^2 )/E) can be enhanced for large momenta to exp(−πm^2 /E) with the axion. The chiral anomaly equation is reproduced under parallel electric and magnetic fields, and also an invariance under chiral rotation of the enhancement is shown. Last implications to axion cosmology, with an emphasis to axion inflation and axion dark matter detection are discussed.

arXiv:2101.05192