1998/06/10 by U. Eichmann, J. Reinhardt, S. Schramm +2 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Amplitude #Atomic physics #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Coulomb #Eikonal approximation #Eikonal equation #Electron #High-Energy Particle Collisions Research #Impact parameter #Ion #Nuclear physics #Optical properties and cooling technologies in crystalline materials #Particle physics #Perturbation theory (quantum mechanics) #Photon #Physics #Quantum electrodynamics #Quantum mechanics #Scattering #Scattering amplitude #Virtual particle #nucl-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.59.1223
published as Phys.Rev.A59:1223-1237,1999 · 13 pages, 4 .eps figures
arxiv created 1998/06/10 · openalex publication_date 1999/02/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We calculate the asymptotic high-energy amplitude for electrons scattering at one ion, as well as at two colliding ions, by means of perturbation theory. We show that the interaction with one ion eikonalizes and that the interaction with two ions causally decouples. We are able to put previous results on perturbative grounds and propose further applications for the obtained rules for interactions on the light cone. We discuss the implications of the eikonal amplitude on the pair production probability in ultrarelativistic peripheral heavy-ion collisions. In this context the Weizs"acker-Williams method is shown to be exact in the ultrarelativistic limit, irrespective of the produced particles' mass. A new equivalent single-photon distribution is derived, which correctly accounts for Coulomb distortions. The impact on single-photon induced processes is discussed.