Related papers: Thermally-induced vacuum instability in a single p…
We study a class of time dependent solutions of the vacuum Einstein equations which are plane waves with weak null singularities. This singularity is weak in the sense that though the tidal forces diverge at the singularity, the rate of…
There is a deep tension between the well-developed theory of gravitational waves from isolated systems and the presence of a positive cosmological constant $\Lambda$, however tiny. In particular, even the post-Newtonian quadrupole formula,…
We evidence the existence of plasma oscillations of electrons-positron pairs created by the vacuum polarization in an uniform electric field with E < Ec. Our general treatment, encompassing also the traditional, well studied case of E > Ec,…
Positive and negative ions forming so-called pair plasma differing in sign of their charge but asymmetric in mass and temperature support a new acoustic mode where damping of heavier ion dominates. The condition for the excitation of ion…
A consistency condition of general relativity as an effective field theory in Minkowskian background uniquely fixes the value of the cosmological constant. In two-loop calculations, including the interaction of gravitons with matter fields,…
It is pointed out that the unmagnetized inhomogeneous plasmas can support a low frequency electromagnetic ion wave as a normal mode like Alfven wave of magnetized plasmas. But this is a coupled mode produced by the mixing of longitudinal…
We consider the vacuum decay by electron-positron pair production in spatially homogeneous, time dependent electric fields by means of quantum kinetic equations. Our focus is on the impact of various pulse shapes as envelopes of oscillating…
We study the possibility that massless particles, such as photons, are produced by a gravitational wave. That such a process should occur is implied by tree-level, Feynman diagrams such as two gravitons turning into two photons i.e. $g + g…
It is shown that the Unruh effect, i.e. the increase in temperature indicated by a uniformly accelerated thermometer in an inertial vacuum state of a quantum field, cannot be interpreted as the result of an exchange of heat with a…
A system of equations, describing the evolution of electromagnetic fields, is introduced and discussed. The model is strictly related to Maxwell's equations. As a matter of fact, the Lagrangian is the same, but the variations are subjected…
Pair production in a constant electric field is closely analogous to bubble nucleation in a false vacuum. The classical trajectories of the pairs are Lorentz invariant, but it appears that this invariance should be broken by the nucleation…
We study the interaction of two counter-propagating electromagnetic waves in vacuum in the Born-Infeld electrodynamics. First we investigate the Born case for linearly polarized beams, ${\bf E}\cdot{\bf B}=0$, i. e. $\mathfrak{G}^2=0$…
We consider the stability of spatially homogeneous plane-wave spacetimes. We carry out a full analysis for plane-wave spacetimes in (4+1) dimensions, and find there are two cases to consider; what we call non-exceptional and exceptional. In…
Some astrophysical objects are supposed to have very strong electromagnetic fields above the critical strength. Quantum fluctuations due to strong electromagnetic fields modify the Maxwell theory and particularly electric fields make the…
In a previous paper, two of the authors presented a "regulated" picture of eternal inflation. This picture both suggested and drew support from a conjectured discontinuity in the amplitude for tunneling from positive to negative vacuum…
We study the behavior of perturbations in a compressible one-dimensional inviscid gas with an ambient state consisting of constant pressure and periodically-varying density. We show through asymptotic analysis that long-wavelength…
The non-perturbative electron-positron pair production in time-dependent electric fields is investigated. The quantum kinetic formalism is employed in order to calculate the electron density for various field configurations. The…
We study Schwinger pair creation of charged particles due to the inhomogeneous electric field created by the thin electron layer at the surface of quark stars (the electrosphere). As suggested earlier, due to the low photon emissivity of…
Self-energy and vacuum polarization effects in quantum electrodynamics (QED) are calculated for the supercritical Coulomb field, where Dirac energy levels become embedded in the negative-energy continuum. In this regime, the quantum vacuum…
It has been proved in the context of quantum fields in Minkowski spacetime that the vacuum state is a thermal state according to uniformly accelerated observers -- a seminal result known as the Unruh effect. Recent claims, however, have…