Lepton pair production at HERA and the hadronic component of the electron

Corrections given by the hadronic component of the electron to Drell-Yan lepton pair production and J/ψ production in electron-proton scattering at HERA energies are studied. The contributions of all the hard scattering processes with initial states qq, qanti q, qg, gq, gg are taken into account. We have estimated cross-section values for the production of large pT lepton pairs both in the continuum and via the production and decay of C-even χ states. It is pointed out that this type of corrections are sizeable at moderate invariant mass (≅2-4 GeV) and transverse momentum (2-5 GeV) values of the lepton pair. With the measurement of lepton pair productions additional experimental information may be obtained on the hadronic component of the electron. (orig.)