Schwinger effect of extremal Reissner-Nordström black holes

Abstract The Schwinger effect has a variety of physics applications. In the context of black hole physics, it provides a channel for the decay of charged black holes. While the Schwinger rate has been derived for extremal Reissner-Nordström (RN) black hole using the AdS 2 × S 2 geometry of the horiz...

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Main Authors: Puxin Lin, Gary Shiu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of High Energy Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)017
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author Puxin Lin
Gary Shiu
author_facet Puxin Lin
Gary Shiu
author_sort Puxin Lin
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Schwinger effect has a variety of physics applications. In the context of black hole physics, it provides a channel for the decay of charged black holes. While the Schwinger rate has been derived for extremal Reissner-Nordström (RN) black hole using the AdS 2 × S 2 geometry of the horizon, a full analysis in the whole geometry is lacking, begging the question of whether it is sufficient to ignore contributions away from the horizon. In this paper, we address this problem and obtain the spatial profile of the Schwinger production rate in an asymptotically flat RN black hole spacetime. We find that the Schwinger effect is strongest on the horizon and decays with distance from the horizon, exhibiting a characteristic scale of the Compton wavelength of the particle. The rate is switched off when the particle’s charge-to-mass ratio approaches the corresponding extremality bound for black holes, in accordance with a strong form of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC).
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spelling doaj-art-e4fc8b39dcbe455894ea14ea8bc43a7a2025-08-20T03:45:44ZengSpringerOpenJournal of High Energy Physics1029-84792025-06-012025613010.1007/JHEP06(2025)017Schwinger effect of extremal Reissner-Nordström black holesPuxin Lin0Gary Shiu1Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-MadisonDepartment of Physics, University of Wisconsin-MadisonAbstract The Schwinger effect has a variety of physics applications. In the context of black hole physics, it provides a channel for the decay of charged black holes. While the Schwinger rate has been derived for extremal Reissner-Nordström (RN) black hole using the AdS 2 × S 2 geometry of the horizon, a full analysis in the whole geometry is lacking, begging the question of whether it is sufficient to ignore contributions away from the horizon. In this paper, we address this problem and obtain the spatial profile of the Schwinger production rate in an asymptotically flat RN black hole spacetime. We find that the Schwinger effect is strongest on the horizon and decays with distance from the horizon, exhibiting a characteristic scale of the Compton wavelength of the particle. The rate is switched off when the particle’s charge-to-mass ratio approaches the corresponding extremality bound for black holes, in accordance with a strong form of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC).https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)017Black HolesNonperturbative EffectsSolitons Monopoles and Instantons
spellingShingle Puxin Lin
Gary Shiu
Schwinger effect of extremal Reissner-Nordström black holes
Journal of High Energy Physics
Black Holes
Nonperturbative Effects
Solitons Monopoles and Instantons
title Schwinger effect of extremal Reissner-Nordström black holes
title_full Schwinger effect of extremal Reissner-Nordström black holes
title_fullStr Schwinger effect of extremal Reissner-Nordström black holes
title_full_unstemmed Schwinger effect of extremal Reissner-Nordström black holes
title_short Schwinger effect of extremal Reissner-Nordström black holes
title_sort schwinger effect of extremal reissner nordstrom black holes
topic Black Holes
Nonperturbative Effects
Solitons Monopoles and Instantons
url https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)017
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AT garyshiu schwingereffectofextremalreissnernordstromblackholes