10 December 2025
Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, UCM
Europe/Madrid timezone

Relevance of on and off transitions in quantum pair production experiments

10 Dec 2025, 16:58
13m
Aula Magna M1 (Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, UCM)

Aula Magna M1

Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, UCM

Plaza de Ciencias 1, 28040 Madrid
Oral presentation Short contributions

Speaker

Álvaro Álvarez-Domínguez (Universidad Complutense de Madrid e IPARCOS)

Description

Analog gravity experiments, such as those realized in Bose-Einstein condensates, often aim at simulating cosmological pair production due to the dynamical expansion of the Universe. However, these experiments have a start and an end, which introduces unavoidable transitions out of and into static regimes that alter the intended expansion profile. We show that the resulting particle spectra can be overwhelmingly dominated by these transition periods, which calls for a careful interpretation of experimental outcomes. In prospective Schwinger effect experiments, by contrast, transition effects do not dominate particle production, and such a reinterpretation may not be necessary.

Authors

Dr Álvaro Parra-López (University of Oslo) Álvaro Álvarez-Domínguez (Universidad Complutense de Madrid e IPARCOS)

Presentation materials