Coulomb Effects on Electromagnetic Pair Production in Ultrarelativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions
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We discuss the implications of the eikonal amplitude on the pair production probability in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion transits. In this context the Weizsäcker-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 the Coulomb distortions. As an immediate application, consequences for unitarity violation in photo-dissociation processes in peripheral heavy-ion encounters are discussed.
13 pages, 4 .eps figures
13 pages, 4 .eps figures