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Asymptotic channels and gauge transformations of the time-dependent Dirac equation for extremely relativistic heavy-ion collisions

J. C. Wells·B. Segev·J. Eichler
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Abstract

We discuss the two-center, time-dependent Dirac equation describing the dynamics of an electron during a peripheral, relativistic heavy-ion collision at extreme energies. We derive a factored form, which is exact in the high-energy limit, for the asymptotic channel solutions of the Dirac equation, and elucidate their close connection with gauge transformations which transform the dynamics into a representation in which the interaction between the electron and a distant ion is of short range. We describe the implications of this relationship for solving the time-dependent Dirac equation for extremely relativistic collisions.

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J. C. Wells, B. Segev, J. Eichler. 1998-08-31. Asymptotic channels and gauge transformations of the time-dependent Dirac equation for extremely relativistic heavy-ion collisions. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.59.346

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