VIRTUAL PHOTON SCATTERING AT HIGH-ENERGIES AS A PROBE OF THE SHORT-DISTANCE POMERON

Perturbative QCD predicts the behavior of scattering at high energies and fixed (sufficiently large) transferred momentia in terms of the BF KL Pomeron (or short distance Pomeron). We study the prospects for tes ting these predictions in two-photon processes at CERN LEP 200 and a p ossible future e(+/-)e(-) collider. We argue that the total cross sect ion for scattering two photons sufficiently far off shell provides a c lean probe of BFKL dynamics. The photons act as color dipoles with sma ll transverse size, so that the QCD interactions can be treated pertur batively. We analyze the properties of the QCD result and the possibil ity testing them experimentally. We give an estimate of the rates expe cted and discuss the uncertainties of these results associated with th e accuracy of the present theoretical calculations. [S0556-2821(97)054 21-0].