Schwinger pair creation in constant and time-dependent fields
Christian Schubert (Michoacan University, Mexico)

The effect of pair creation from the vacuum in a strong electric field, predicted by Schwinger in 1951, may conceivably be confirmed experimentally with some of the ultrastrong lasers presently under construction. However, it is not easy to calculate the effect for realistic laser fields. I will review here some of the methods available for the cases of a constant or purely time-dependent electric field, such as WKB, worldline instantons, or quantum Vlasov equations.
Some issues of theoretical interest will also be discussed, such as radiative corrections and the related issue of a field-dependent electron mass.