Production of the bound triplet mu(+)mu(-) system in collisions of electrons with atoms - art. no. 032501

This paper deals with the production of orthodimuonium (OM) (mu(+)mu(-) ato m in triplet state) in collisions of high-energy: electrons with nuclei or atoms. This reaction was previously studied by Holvik and Olsen [Phys, Rev. D 35, 2124 (1987)] on the basis;of a bremsstrahlung mechanism where OM is produced by only one Virtual photon. In the present paper, we consider a co mpeting three-photon mechanism where the production of OM results from the collision of a photon generated by the electron with two photons emitted by the nucleus. We derive the corresponding energy spectrum and production: r ate of OM and show that the three-photon mechanism is the dominant one for a heavy atom target.