Strong coupling from e(+)e(-) -> hadrons below charm

We use a new compilation of the hadronic R-ratio from available data for the process e(+)e(-) -> hadrons to determine the strong coupling, as. We make use of all data for the R-ratio from threshold to a center-of-mass energy of 2 GeV by employing finite-energy sum rules. Data above 2 GeV, for which at present far fewer high-precision experimental data are available, do not provide much additional constraint but are fully consistent with the values for as we obtain. Quoting our results at the t mass to facilitate comparison to the results obtained from analogous analyses of hadronic tau-decay data, we find alpha(s)(m(tau)(2)) = 0.298 +/- 0.016 +/- 0.006 in fixed-order perturbation theory, and alpha(s)(m(tau)(2)) = 0.304 +/- 0.018 +/- 0.006 in contour-improved perturbation theory, where the first error is statistical, and the second error reflects our estimate of various systematic effects. These values are in good agreement with a recent determination from the OPAL and ALEPH data for hadronic tau decays.