Vortex Structures and Momentum Sharing in Dynamic Sauter-Schwinger Process

Abstract

Vortex pattern formation in electron-positron pair creation from vacuum by a time-dependent electric field of linear polarization is analyzed. It is demonstrated that in such scenario the momentum distributions of created particles exhibit vortex-antivortex pairs. Their sensitivity to the laser field parameters such as the field frequency and intensity is also studied. Specifically, it is shown that with increasing field frequency accross the one-photon threshold additional vortex-antivortex pairs appear. Their location in the momentum space is consistent with a general threshold behavior of probability distributions of created electrons (positrons). Namely, while for small field frequencies the particles tend to be created along the field polarization direction, for large enough frequencies they are predominantly generated in the perpendicular direction. Such change in longitudinal and transverse momentum sharing of created particles occurs accross the one-photon threshold.