Surface properties and scaling behavior of a generalized ballistic deposition model.

The surface exponents, scaling behavior, and bulk porosity of a generalized ballistic deposition (GBD) model are studied. In nature, there exist particles with varying degrees of stickiness ranging from completely nonsticky to fully sticky. Such particles may adhere to any one of the successively encountered surfaces, depending on a sticking probability that is governed by the underlying stochastic mechanism. The microscopic configurations possible in this model are much larger than those allowed in existing models of ballistic deposition and competitive growth models that seek to mix ballistic and random deposition processes. In this article, we find the scaling exponents for surface width and porosity for the proposed GBD model. In terms of scaled width W[over ̃] and scaled time t[over ̃], the numerical data collapse onto a single curve, demonstrating successful scaling with sticking probability p and system size L. Similar scaling behavior is also found for the porosity.