K. Hencken et al., Production of low mass electron pairs due to the photon-photon mechanism in central collisions - art. no. 027901, PHYS REV C, 6102(2), 2000, pp. 7901
We calculate the probability for dilepton production in central relativisti
c heavy ion collisions due to the yy mechanism. This is a potential backgro
und to more interesting mechanisms. We find that this mechanism is negligib
le in the CERES experiments. Generally, the contribution due to this mechan
ism is small in the central region, while it can be large for small invaria
nt masses and forward or backward rapidities. A simple formula based on the
equivalent photon approximation and applications to a possible scenario at
the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider are also given.