The energy-energy correlation cross section for hadrons produced in electron-positron annihilation at a center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV has been measured with the MAC detector at SLAC. The result is corrected for the effects of detector resolution, acceptance, and initial-state radiation. The correlation is measured in two independent ways on the same data sample: the energy weights and angles are obtained either from the energy flow in the finely segmented total absorption calorimeters or from the momenta of charged tracks in the central drift chamber. This procedure helps reduce systematic errors by cross-checking the effects of the detector on the measurement, particularly important because the corrections depend on complex Monte Carlo simulations. The results are compared with the predictions of Monte Carlo models of complete second-order perturbative quantum chromodynamics and fragmentation, with the following conclusions: (1) fitting the asymmetry for large correlation angles gives values for αS of 0.120±0.006 in perturbation theory, 0.185±0.013 in the Lund string model, and values which vary from 0.105 to 0.140 (±0.01) in the incoherent jet models, depending on the gluon fragmentation scheme and the algorithm used for momentum conservation; and (2) the string fragmentation model provides a satisfactory description of the measured energy-energy correlation cross section, whereas incoherent jet formation does not.
VALUES FOR THE ASSYMETRY ARE GIVEN ALSO.
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