Branching Processes Applied to Cell Surface Aggregation Phenomena

Aggregation processes are studied within a number of different fields--c- loid chemistry, atmospheric physics, astrophysics, polymer science, and biology, to name only a few. Aggregation pro ces ses involve monomer units (e. g., biological cells, liquid or colloidal droplets, latex beads, molecules, or even stars) that join together to form polymers or aggregates. A quantitative theory of aggre- tion was first formulated in 1916 by Smoluchowski who proposed that the time e- lution of the ag...