Ambiguities of jet algorithms are reinterpreted as instability wrt small
variations of input. Optimal stability occurs for observables possessing
property of calorimetric continuity (C-continuity) predetermined by kinematical
structure of calorimetric detectors. The so-called C-correlators form a basic
class of such observables and fit naturally into QFT framework, allowing
systematic theoretical studies. A few rules generate other C-continuous
observables. The resulting C-algebra correctly quantifies any feature of
multijet structure such as the "number of jets" and mass spectra of "multijet
substates". The new observables are physically equivalent to traditional ones
but can be computed from final states bypassing jet algorithms which reemerge
as a tool of approximate computation of C-observables from data with all
ambiguities under analytical control and an optimal recombination criterion
minimizing approximation errors.Comment: PostScript, 94 pp (US Letter), 18 PS files, [email protected]