Light-front time evolution in intense fields

We report on the influence of strong electromagnetic fields generated by an ultra-relativistic heavy ion on the quantized field of a charged fermion particle using the time-dependent basis light-front quantization (tBLFQ) approach. We calculate transitions of the charged fermion and find agreement with light-front perturbation theory at small coupling. We then present non-perturbative effects, such as the real-time evolution of the momentum distribution and the helicity configuration of the fermion in strong fields. We will discuss prospects for applying the tBLFQ formalism to time-dependent QED and QCD fields in heavy ion collisions and electron-ion collisions.