Phase Transition in a Conserved-Mass Model of Aggregation and Dissociation

Abstract

We introduce a new model of aggregation of particles where in addition to diffusion and aggregation upon contact, a single unit of mass can dissociate from a conglomerate. This dissociation move conserves the total mass and leads to a striking behaviour in the steady state. As the parameters are varied, the system undergoes a dynamical phase transition in all dimensions. In one phase the mass distribution decays exponentially for large mass whereas in the other phase there is a power law distribution of masses which coexists with an infinite mass aggregate. The model is investigated analytically within mean field theory, and numerically in one dimension.