Bound-free pair production cross section in heavy-ion colliders from the equivalent photon approach

Abstract

Exact calculations of the electron-positron pair production by a single photon in the Coulomb field of a nucleus with simultaneous capture of the electron into the K-shell are discussed for different nuclear charges. Using the equivalent photon method of Weizsaecker and Williams, a simple expression for the bound-free production of electron-positron pairs by colliding very-high-energy fully stripped heavy ions is derived for nuclei of arbitrary charge.