Measuring alphaSfrom scaling violations in fragmentation functions

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Abstract
Scaling violation is clearly visible when one compares charged particle momentum fraction distributions in e+e- annihilation at different energies, but it has not been used so far to measure alpha S. This is remarkable when one considers that the closely related phenomenon of scaling violation in deep inelastic lepton scattering is the main source of information on alpha S outside e+e- physics. At PETRA/PEP and TRISTAN energies, high statistics have not been available at widely separated energies. The LEP data provide a bigger lever arm in energy with very high statistics, suggesting that a precision measurement may be possible. The author discusses some of the theoretical issues and assesses the feasibility of using LEP and lower-energy data to measure alpha S.