The elimination of fast variables in complex chemical reactions. III. Mesoscopic level (irreducible case)
Authors:
J. A. M. Janssen
Affiliation:
(1) Institute for Theoretical Physics, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands;(2) Present address: Department of Oceanography, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, 3730 AE De Bilt, The Netherlands
Abstract:
The master equation for a complex chemical reaction cannot always be reduced to a simpler master equation, even if there are fast and slow individual reaction steps. Nevertheless the elimination of intermediates can be carried out with the help of the-expansion. This is illustrated with a well-known complex reaction: the dissociation of N2O5. It is shown that the intrinsic fluctuations in the N2O5 decay are larger than those implied by the master equation suggested by the macroscopic rate law.