Is there any scaling in the cluster distribution?

We apply fractal analysis methods to investigate the scaling properties in the Abell and ACO catalogs of rich galaxy clusters. We also discuss different technical aspects of the method when applied to data sets with small number of points as the cluster catalogs. Results are compared with simulations based on the Zel'dovich approximation. We limit our analysis to scales less than 100 $\hm$. The cluster distribution show a scale invariant multifractal behavior in a limited scale range. For the Abell catalog this range is 15--60$\hm$, while for the ACO sample it extends to smaller scales. Despite this difference in the extension of the scale--range where scale--invariant clustering takes plac…