Before revision:  As an application of our theory, we consider a microbial population of spherical bacteria. Our results suggest that the elastic ligands allow large floc aggregates by inducing efficient inter-floc collisions (i.e., a large, non-zero collision factor).
After revision:  The results suggest that the elastic ligands allow large floc aggregates by inducing efficient inter-floc collisions (i.e., a large, non-zero collision factor).