Real-time dynamics of parton-hadron conversion

We propose a new and universal approach to the hadronization problem that incorporates both perturbative QCD and effective field theory in their respective domains of validity and that models the transition between them in analogy to the finite temperature QCD phase transition. Using techniques of quantum kinetic theory, we formulate a real-time description in momentum and position space. The approach is applied to the evolution of fragmenting q\bar q and gg jets as the system evolves from the initial 2-jet, via parton multiplication and cluster formation, to the final yield of hadrons. We investigate time scale of the transition, energy dependence, cluster size and mass distributions, and compare our results for particle production and Bose-Einstein correlations with experimental data for e^+e^-\rightarrow hadrons. An interesting possibility to extract the space-time evolution of the system from Bose enhancement measurements is suggested.