Abstract

We present a complete set of rotationally invariant observables which characterizes the `shapes' of final states in annihilation. They are infrared stable when calculated in QCD perturbation theory. We compare the `shapes' of final states from the processes , (G) and from the three-gluon decays of heavy vector mesons. We also consider the production and decay of heavy quarks and leptons. Using a realistic model for the development of hadron jets, we find that for c.m. energies above about 10 GeV, these processes may be clearly distinguished by their distributions in the . We indicate how our analysis may be extended to deep inelastic lepton-hadron interactions and hadron-hadron collisions involving large transverse momenta.

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