Scaling and shadowing effects in ballistic aggregation

Abstract

We have studied the scaling and shadowing properties of two-dimensional off-lattice ballistic aggregation on a seed. The computer simulations show that the limiting semivertical cone angle is about 15.5°. The density as a function of distance from the seed tends to a constant value showing a basic two-dimensional nature of the aggregates and has a correction with a metadimension of about 0.56. The density as a function of angle near the edges of the cone is found to obey a scaling relation similar to the on-lattice case. The probabilities for the fingers of different lengths which shadow the particle near the edge are determined in the computer experiment and also determined analytically.