The role of energy in ballistic agglomeration

Abstract

We study a ballistic agglomeration process in the reaction-controlled limit. Cluster densities obey an infinite set of Smoluchowski rate equations, with rates dependent on the average particle energy. The latter is the same for all cluster species in the reaction-controlled limit and obeys an equation depending on densities. We express the average energy through the total cluster density that allows us to reduce the governing equations to the standard Smoluchowski equations. We derive basic asymptotic behaviors and verify them numerically. We also apply our formalism to the agglomeration of dark matter.