Fluctuation Effects in Steric Reaction-Diffusion Systems

Abstract

We propose a simple model for reaction-diffusion systems with orientational constraints on the reactivity of particles, and map it onto a field theory with upper critical dimension d_c=2. To two-loop level the long-time particle density N(t) is given by the same universal expression as for a nonsteric system, with N(t)~t^{-d/2} for d<=2. For slow rotations of the particles we find an intermediate regime where N(t)~t^{-d/4}, with the crossover to the nonsteric asymptotics determined by the rates of rotations and reactions. Consequences for experiments are discussed.