Studying gluon properties experimentally

We argue in this paper the following. (i) A large part of what is observed in high-energy hadron reactions may be rather directly interpretable in terms of gluon interactions. Since gluons do not interact directly with leptons and photons this could be a valuable way to study them experimentally. Earlier work in this direction is briefly summarized. We suggest how several quantities can be reinterpreted in terms of gluon interactions; the rise in [sigma]tot, and the more rapid increase of multiplicity with energy at very high energies, are particularly fruitful to examine. The possibility of interpreting inclusive polarization data in terms of gluon spin properties is considered. Most importantly, we propose that if certain of our predictions on central region particle ratios are correct, then the gluon distribution as a function of x may be measurable at energies in the ISABELLE range. (ii) The structure of gluon jets in mass, multiplicity and momentum is discussed; we suggest that gluon jets will be quite different from quark jets, with more of the energy of the gluon jet going into mass, so hard gluon jets may not exist.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22599/1/0000148.pd