Pair production from space- and time-dependent strong fields

The recent development of laser technology and the large number of extreme laser experiments under construction renewed the research related to pair production in strong fields. If the predicted threshold of nonlinear QED is reached, pair production may be observed and the measurements must be compared with appropriate theoretical predictions. However the theoretical side still lacks the understanding of the relevant quantum processes including the effect of laser field parameters on the number and spectrum of created particles. We use the Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner formalism to investigate the role of the pure electric inhomogeneity on the spectra of created pairs. This simplified model may also be relevant in high energy physics for the description of string fragmentation in the early stages of heavy ion collisions.