Dynamically Assisted Pair Production in Subcritical Potential Step and Particle–Antiparticle Interpretations

Abstract Particle–antiparticle interpretation under spatially inhomogeneous external fields within the framework of quantum field theory is a nontrivial problem. In this paper, we focus on the two interpretations established by Gavrilov and Gitman (Phys. Rev. D 93, 045002 (2016)) and by Nakazato and Ochiai (Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. 2022, 073B02 (2022)), both of which give consistent results for vacuum instability and pair production. To shed light on their differences, a pair production under a potential step assisted by a weak and oscillating electric field is discussed. It is shown that the potential step and the oscillating field, each insufficient for vacuum decay, can produce pairs when combined. In addition, the two pictures give rise to quantitative differences in the number of created pairs at the second-order perturbation of the oscillating field. This might provide a clue to investigate the correct particle–antiparticle interpretation by comparing the result with numerical simulations or experiments.