E-p Pair creation without nuclear collision?

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
1 reply · 2K views
FieldIntensity
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Can an e-p pair be created simply from field interactions rather than brute force collisions of atomic nuclei?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Creating e's and p's

In theory, you could collide two photons and get an e (and an anti-e) and also a p (and an anti-p). But that’s probably not what you meant.
Also in theory, a vey small black hole can create e’s and p’s via Hawking radiation. “Rip em right out of the vacuum”, according to some popularizations.

Jim