Cluster dynamics: Further classical trajectory studies of A+A n⇄A*n+1

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Abstract
Classical trajectory studies were performed on the dynamics of collisions of single atoms with small clusters of atoms An, leading to the formation of quasibound An+1* complexes, in an attempt to model the microscopic steps in homogenous nucleation processes. Model system of atoms representing argon interacting through pairwise Lennard‐Jones potentials were used in a three‐dimensional numerical simulation of collision events. Capture cross sections and decay rate coefficients were computed as a function of energy for the case in which n equals 5, and the results were combined with previous studies for n equal to 3 and 4 to make preliminary observations about the functional dependence upon cluster size of the forward and reverse rate parameters for this process. Studies were also performed in which opacity functions were calculated for the case where n equals 3 in order to test certain aspects of a simple model frequently used in nucleation studies to compute cluster formation rates.