Two-photon production processes at high energy. I

Abstract

We discuss the high-energy production of muon and pion pairs in ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ colliding beams. All important diagrams in order ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{4}$ are included. The total cross section is obtained through seven-dimensional numerical integration using a convenient set of mapped covariant variables. Some distributions are given which are relevant for both current and future colliding-beam facilities.