Pair creation in weak gravity and gauge backgrounds: spinning fields and binary stars

Abstract

We study pair creation for quantum fields of spin $0$, $1/2$, and $1$ in the presence of weak gravitational and gauge backgrounds. Using resummed heat-kernel techniques, we obtain closed expressions for the pair creation probability up to quadratic order in the ``generalized curvatures''. In addition, for gravitational backgrounds, we recast the pair production probability in terms of the matter distribution required for consistency with the Einstein equation. Finally, to illustrate the powerfulness of our methods, we analyze the effect of pair creation in a binary star system.