Quantum Electrodynamics in Strong External Fields

摘要

We review the theoretical description of quantum electrodynamics in the presence of strong and supercritical fields. In particular, the process of the spontaneous vacuum decay accompanied by the observable positron emission in heavy ion collisions is described. Emphasis is put on the proper formulation of many-body aspects in the framework of quantum field theory. The extension of the theory to the description of Bose fields and many-body effects is presented, and the Klein paradox is resolved. Some implications of the theoretical methods developed here are presented concerning non-abelian gauge theories and the quark confinement puzzle.