Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol.115, No.15, 7100-7106, 2001
Nonequilibrium translational-rotational effects in nucleation
The role that translational-rotational degrees of freedom play in nucleation theories is reconsidered by the introduction of a new formalism that properly accounts for the effects of motion of clusters in nucleation rate. The analysis of the nonequilibrium kinetics of the process, performed by retaining the dynamics of the clusters, enables one to clarify some of the paradoxical aspects that the inclusion of these degrees of freedom has presented.