Derivative expansion for the one-loop effective Lagrangian in QED

Abstract

The derivative expansion of the one-loop effective Lagrangian in QED4 is considered. The first term in such an expansion is the famous Schwinger result for a constant electromagnetic field. In this paper we give an explicit expression for the next term containing two derivatives of the field strength Fμν. The results are presented for both fermion and scalar electrodynamics. Some possible applications of an inhomogeneous external field are pointed out.