Analytic results for the effective action

Abstract

Motivated by the seminal work of Schwinger, we obtain explicit closed form expressions for the one-loop effective action in a constant electromagnetic field. We discuss both massive and massless charged scalars and spinors in two, three, and four dimensions. Both strong field and weak field limits are calculable. The latter limit results in an asymptotic expansion whose first term reproduces the Euler-Heisenberg effective Lagrangian. We use the zeta function renormalization prescription, and indicate its relationship to Schwinger's renormalized effective action.