Schwinger effect in compact space: a real time calculation

Abstract

We compute the discharging rate of a uniform electric field due to Schwinger pair production in $(1+1)$-dimensional scalar electrodynamics with a compact dimension of radius $R$. Our calculation is performed in real time, using the in-in formalism. For large compactification radii, $R\to\infty$, we recover the standard non compact space result. However, other ranges of values of $R$ and of the mass $m$ of the charged scalar give rise to a richer set of behaviors. For $R\gtrsim{\cal O}(1/m)$ with $m$ large enough, the electric field oscillates in time, whereas for $R\to 0$ it decreases in steps. We discuss the origin of these results.