Electron Propagation in the Field of Colliding Nuclei at Ultrarelativistic Energies
We calculate the asymptotic high-energy amplitude for electrons scattering at one ion as well as at two colliding ions, respectively, by means of perturbation theory. We show that the interaction with one ion eikonalizes and that the interaction with two ions causally decouples. We are able to put previous results on perturbative grounds and propose further applications for the obtained rules for interactions on the light cone. The formalism will be of use for the calculation of Coulomb corrections to electron-positron pair creation in heavy ion collisions. Finally we discuss the results and inherent dangers of the employed approximations.