HomeQuantum Physics3D Sauter-Schwinger Effect: Vacuum Pair Production

Schwinger Effect in 3D: Vacuum Pair Production Field

Free-orbit 3D Schwinger effect simulator: a strong electric field region between two capacitor plates spontaneously produces electron-positron pairs from the vacuum via quantum tunnelling, with instanced pairs streaming apart along the field lines whose density follows the real exponentially-suppressed rate Gamma/V proportional to E^2 exp(-pi Ec/E).

Quantum Physics3DAdvanced60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version
3d-quantum-field-theory-physics-2 ↗ Open standalone

This is the same real physics as the 2D Schwinger-effect simulator, rendered as a free-orbit 3D field region between two capacitor plates. A strong electric field spans the gap along a fixed axis, and the vacuum inside spontaneously produces real electron-positron pairs via quantum tunnelling through the mass gap — the true Sauter-Schwinger effect, not an artistic stand-in. Instanced electron (blue) and positron (red) pairs spawn at random points inside the field volume and stream apart along the field lines the moment they tunnel into existence, with spawn density governed by the genuine exponentially-suppressed rate Γ/V ∝ E²·exp(−π·Ec/E), worked in the normalized ratio E/Ec so the real exponential survives in floating point. Tune the field from a small fraction of the true QED critical field Ec ≈ 1.3×10¹⁸ V/m up past it and watch the field volume go from essentially empty to dense with newly-real pairs — the genuine tunnelling threshold, viewable from any angle.

⚙ Under the hood

Explore the Schwinger effect in 3D, where electron-positron pairs tunnel from vacuum at E/E_c > 0.3, showing exponential threshold behavior.

Quantum Field TheorySchwinger EffectQEDVacuum Pair ProductionThree.js

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install

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