A new look at the pair-production width in a strong magnetic field

We reexamine the process gamma --> e(+) + e(-) in a background magnetic fie ld comparable to B-c equivalent to m(e)(2)/e male. This process is known to be non-perturbative in the magnetic-field strength. However, it can be sho wn that the moments of the above pair production width are proportional to the derivatives of photon polarization function at the zero energy, which i s perturbative in B. Hence, the pair-production width can be easily obtaine d from the latter by the inverse Mellin transform. The implications of our approach are discussed. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.