QCD STUDIES USING A CONE-BASED JET FINDING ALGORITHM FOR E- COLLISIONS AT LEP(E)

We describe a cone-based jet finding algorithm (similar to that used i n ppBAR experiments), which we have applied to hadronic events recorde d using the OPAL detector at LEP. Comparisons are made between jets de fined with the cone algorithm and jets found by the ''JADE- and ''Durh am'' jet finders usually used in e+e-experiments. Measured jet rates, as a function of the cone size and as a function of the minimum jet en ergy, have been compared with O(alpha(s)2) QCD calculations, from whic h two complementary measurements of alpha(s)(M(Zo)) have been made. Th e results are alpha(s)(M(zo))=0.116+/-0.008 and alpha(s)(M(zo))=0.119/-0.008 respectively, where the errors include both experimental and t heoretical uncertainties. Measurements are presented of the energy flo w inside jets defined using the cone algorithm, and compared with equi valent data from ppBAR interactions, reported by the CDF collaboration . We find that the jets in e+e- are significantly narrower than those observed in ppBAR. The main contribution to this effect appears to ari se from differences between quark- and gluon-induced jets.