Determination of the e+ e- ---> gamma gamma (gamma) cross-section at LEP 2

A test of the benchmark QED process e(+) e(-) -->gammagamma(gamma) is reported, using the data collected with the DELPHI detector at LEP 2. The data analysed were recorded at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 161 GeV to 208 GeV and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 656.4 pb(-1). The Born cross-section for the process e(+) e(-)-->gammagamma(gamma) was determined, confirming the validity of QED at the highest energies ever attained in electron-positron collisions. Lower limits on the parameters of a number of possible deviations from QED, predicted within theoretical frameworks expressing physics beyond the Standard Model, were derived.