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

TL;DR

This paper derives a simple formula for calculating the bound-free electron-positron pair production cross section in heavy-ion colliders using the equivalent photon approach, applicable to various nuclear charges.

Contribution

It introduces a new, simplified expression for bound-free pair production cross sections based on the equivalent photon method, extending applicability to arbitrary nuclear charges.

Findings

Derived a simple expression for the cross section.

Validated the approach for different nuclear charges.

Provides a practical tool for collider physics calculations.

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.