Charm photo- and electroproduction at high energies

The differential and total cross sections for the photoproduction of vector D* mesons and for their production in deep-inelastic interactions at the H ERA collider are estimated on the basis of a model motivated by perturbativ e calculations within QCD. The proposed model makes it possible to take int o account higher twists in the meson transverse momentum at p(T) similar to m(c) and to reproduce correctly the dominance of c-quark fragmentation for p(T) much greater than m(c). The possibility of the hadronization of an oc tet c (q) over bar state into a meson is considered, whereby good agreement with experimental data is obtained both for the case of D*-meson photoprod uction and for the case of D*-meson formation in a deep-inelastic process. (C) 2000 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".