Charged particle momentum distributions are studied in the reaction e+e- -> hadrons, using data collected with the OPAL detector at centre-of-mass energies from 192 GeV to 209 GeV. The data correspond to an average centre-of- mass energy of 201.7 GeV and a total integrated luminosity of 433 pb-1. The measured distributions and derived quantities, in combination with corresponding results obtained at lower centre-of-mass energies, are compared to QCD predictions in various theoretical approaches to study the energy dependence of the strong interaction and to test QCD as the theory describing it. In general, a good agreement is found between the measurements and the corresponding QCD predictions.

We have measured the mean charged particle multiplicities separately for bbbar, ccbar and light quark (uubar, ddbar, ssbar) initiated events produced in e+e- annihilations at LEP. The data were recorded with the OPAL detector at eleven different energies above Z0 peak, corresponding to the full statistics collected at LPE1.5 and LEP2. The difference in mean charged and particle multiplicities for bbbar and light quark events, delta_bl, measured over this energy range is consistent with an energy independent behaviour, as predicted by QCD, but is inconsistent with the prediction of a more phenomenological approach which assumes that the multiplicity accompanying the decay of a heavy quark is independent of the quark mass itself. Our results, which can be combined into the single measurement delta_bl = 3.44+-0.40(stat)+-0.89(syst) at a luminosity weighted average centre-of mass energy of 195 GeV, are also consistent with an energy independent behaviour as extrapolated from lower energy data.

The predicted effects of final state interactions such as colour reconnection are investigated by measuring properties of hadronic decays of W bosons, recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s)=182.7 GeV in the OPAL detector at LEP. Dependence on the modelling of hadronic W decays is avoided by comparing W+W- -> qqqq events with the non-leptonic component of W+W- -> qqlnu events. The scaled momentum distribution, its mean value, x_p, and that of the charged particle multiplicity, n_ch, are measured and found to be consistent in the two channels. The measured differences are: Diff(x_p) = +0.7 +- 0.8 +- 0.6 and Diff(n_ch) = (-0.09 +- 0.09 +-0.05)*10**-2. In addition, measurements of rapidity and thrust are performed for W+W- -> qqqq events. The data are described well by standard QCD models and disfavour one model of colour reconnection within the ARIADNE program. The current implementation of the ELLIS-GEIGER model of colour reconnection is excluded. At the current level of statistical precision no evidence for colour reconnection effects was found in the observables studied. The predicted effect of colour reconnection on OPAL measurements of M_W is also quantified in the context of models studied.

The inclusive production of D*+- mesons in photon-photon collisions has been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP at e+e- centre-of-mass energies of 183 and 189GeV. The D* mesons are reconstructed in their decay to D0pi+ with the D0 observed in the two decay modes Kpi+ and Kpi+pi-pi+. After background subtraction, 100.4+-12.6(stat) D*+- mesons have been selected in events without observed scattered beam electron ("anti-tagged") and 29.8+-5.9 (stat) D*+- mesons in events where one beam electron is scattered into the detector ("single-tagged"). Direct and single-resolved events are studied separately. Differential cross-sections as functions of the D* transverse momentum p_t and pseudorapidity \eta are presented in the kinematic region 2<p_t<12GeV and \eta<1.5. They are compared to next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD calculations. The total cross-section for the process (e+e- to e+e-ccbar), where the charm quarks are produced in the collision of two quasi-real photons, is measured to be 842+-97(stat)+-75(syst)+-196(extrapolation)pb. A first measurement of the charm structure function F2 of the photon is performed in the kinematic range 0.0014<x<0.87 and 5<Q^2<100 GeV^2, and the result is compared to a NLO perturbative QCD calculation.

Measurements are presented of the polarisation of W+W- boson pairs produced in e+e- collisions, and of CP-violating WWZ and WWGamma trilinear gauge couplings. The data were recorded by the OPAL experiment at LEP during 1998, where a total integrated luminosity of 183 pb^-1 was obtained at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. The measurements are performed through a spin density matrix analysis of the W boson decay products. The fraction of W bosons produced with longitudinal polarisation was found to be sigma_L/sigma_total = (21.0 +- 3.3 +- 1.6)% where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. The joint W boson pair production fractions were found to be sigma_TT/sigma_total = (78.1 +- 9.0 +- 3.2) %, sigma_LL/sigma_total = (20.1 +- 7.2 +- 1.8) % and sigma_TL/sigma_total = (1.8 +- 14.7 +- 3.8) %. In the CP-violating trilinear gauge coupling sector we find kappa_z = -0.20 +0.10 -0.07, g^z_4 = -0.02 +0.32 -0.33 and lambda_z = -0.18 +0.24 -0.16, where errors include both statistical and systematic uncertainties. In each case the coupling is determined with all other couplings set to their Standard Model values except those related to the measured coupling via SU(2)_LxU(1)_Y symmetry. These results are consistent with Standard Model expectations.

The process e+ e- -> e+ e- Z/gamma* is studied with the OPAL detector at LEP at a centre of mass energy of sqrt(s) = 189 GeV. The cross-section times the branching ratio of the Z/gamma* decaying into hadrons is measured within Lorentz invariant kinematic limits to be (1.2 +/- 0.3 +/- 0.1) pb for invariant masses of the hadronic system between 5 GeV and 60 GeV and (0.7 +/- 0.2 +/- 0.1) pb for hadronic masses above 60 GeV. The differential cross-sections of the Mandelstam variables s-hat, t-hat, and u-hat are measured and compared with the predictions from the Monte Carlo generators grc4f and PYTHIA. From this, based on a factorisation ansatz, the total and differential cross-sections for the subprocess e gamma -> e Z/gamma* are derived.

This paper describes the measurement of the W boson mass, M_W, and decay width, Gamma_W, from the direct reconstruction of the invariant mass of its decay products in W pair events collected at a mean centre-of-mass energy of sqrt{s} = 172.12 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP. Measurements of the W pair production cross-section, the W decay branching fractions and properties of the W decay final states are also described. A total of 120 candidate W^+W^- events has been selected for an integrated luminosity of 10.36 pb^-1. The W^+W^- production cross-section is measured to be sigma_WW = 12.3 +/- 1.3(stat.) +/- 0.3(syst.) pb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. The W^+W^- -> qq(bar) l nu and W^+W^- -> qq(bar)qq(bar) final states are used to obtain a direct measurement of Gamma_W = 1.30^{+0.62}_{-0.55}(stat.) +/- 0.18(syst.) GeV. Assuming the Standard Model relation between M_W and Gamma_W, the W boson mass is measured to be M_W = 80.32 +/- 0.30(stat.) +/- 0.09(syst.) GeV. The event properties of the fully-hadronic decays of W^+W^- events are compared to those of the semi-leptonic decays. At the current level of precision there is no evidence for effects of colour reconnection in the observables studied. Combining data recorded by OPAL at sqrt{s} ~ 161-172 GeV, the W boson branching fraction to hadrons is determined to be 69.8^{+3.0}_{-3.2}(stat.) +/- 0.7(syst.)%, consistent with the prediction of the Standard Model. The combined mass measurement from direct reconstruction and from the W^+W^- production cross-sections measured at sqrt{s} ~ 161 and sqrt{s} ~ 172 GeV is M_W = 80.35 +/- 0.24(stat.) +/- 0.07(syst.) GeV.

A study of W+W- events accompanied by hard photon radiation produced in e+e- collisions at LEP is presented. Events consistent with two on-shell W-bosons and an isolated photon are selected from 183pb^-1 of data recorded at root{s}=189GeV. From these data, 17 W+W-gamma candidates are selected with photon energy greater than 10GeV, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. These events are used to measure the e+e- to W+W-gamma cross-section within a set of geometric and kinematic cuts; sigma{W+W-gamma} = 136+-37+-8 fb, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. The photon energy spectrum is used to set the first direct, albeit weak, limits on possible anomalous contributions to the {W+ W- gamma gamma} and {W+ W- gamma Z0} vertices: -0.070GeV^{-2} < a_0/Lambda^2 < 0.070GeV^{-2}, -0.13GeV^{-2} < a_c/Lambda^2 < 0.19GeV^{-2}, -0.61GeV^{-2} < a_n/Lambda^2 < 0.57GeV^{-2}, where Lambda represents the energy scale for new physics.

The production of charm quarks is studied in deep-inelastic electron-photon scattering using data recorded by the OPAL detector at LEP at normal e+e- centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209 GeV. The charm quarks have been identified by full reconstruction of charged D* mesons using their decays into D0pi with the D0 observed in two decay modes with charged particle final states, Kpi and K3pi. The cross-section sigma(D*) for production of charged D* in the reaction e+e- -> e+e-D*X is measured in a restricted kinematical region using two bins in Bjorken x, 0.0014 < x < 0.1 and 0.1 < x < 0.87. From sigma(D*) the charm production cross-section sigma(e+e- -> e+e- ccbar X) and the charm structure function of the photon F 2,c are determined in the region 0.0014 < x < 0.87 and 5 < Q2 < 100 GeV2. For x > 0.1 the perturbative QCD calculation at next-to-leading order agrees perfectly with the measured cross-section. For x < 0.1 the measured cross-section is 43.8 +- 14.3 +- 6.3 +- 2.8 pb with a next-to-leading order prediction of 17.0+2.9-2.3 p.b

The exclusive production of proton-antiproton pairs in the collisions of two quasi-real photons had been studied using data taken at sqrt(s)_ee=183 GeV and 189 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP. Results are presented for Ppbar invariant masses, W, in the range 2.15 W< <3.95 GeV. The cross-section measurements are compared with previous data and with recent analytic calculations based on the quark-diquark model.