In this Report, QCD results obtained from a study of hadronic event structure in high energy e^+e^- interactions with the L3 detector are presented. The operation of the LEP collider at many different collision energies from 91 GeV to 209 GeV offers a unique opportunity to test QCD by measuring the energy dependence of different observables. The main results concern the measurement of the strong coupling constant, \alpha_s, from hadronic event shapes and the study of effects of soft gluon coherence through charged particle multiplicity and momentum distributions.
Jet fractions using the JADE algorithm as a function of the jet resolution parameter YCUT at c.m. energy 130.1 GeV.
Jet fractions using the JADE algorithm as a function of the jet resolution parameter YCUT at c.m. energy 136.1 GeV.
Jet fractions using the JADE algorithm as a function of the jet resolution parameter YCUT at c.m. energy 161.3 GeV.
A global event shape analysis of the multihadronic final states observed in neutral current deep inelastic scattering events with a large rapidity gap with respect to the proton direction is presented. The analysis is performed in the range $5 \leq Q^2 \leq 185\gev^2$ and $160 \leq W \leq 250\gev$, where $Q^2$ is the virtuality of the photon and $W$ is the virtual-photon proton centre of mass energy. Particular emphasis is placed on the dependence of the shape variables, measured in the $\gamma^*-$pomeron rest frame, on the mass of the hadronic final state, $M_X$. With increasing $M_X$ the multihadronic final state becomes more collimated and planar. The experimental results are compared with several models which attempt to describe diffractive events. The broadening effects exhibited by the data require in these models a significant gluon component of the pomeron.
Measured (uncorrected) polar distribution of the sphericity axis w.r.t. thevirtual photon direction in the (gamma*-pomeron)rest frame Data are in bins of the mass of the final state hadronic system.
Measured (uncorrected) polar distribution of the sphericity axis w.r.t. thevirtual photon direction in the (gamma*-pomeron)rest frame Data are in bins of the mass of the final state hadronic system.
Measured (uncorrected) polar distribution of the sphericity axis w.r.t. thevirtual photon direction in the (gamma*-pomeron)rest frame Data are in bins of the mass of the final state hadronic system.