Anisotropic Hydrodynamic Mean-Field Theory for Semiflexible Polymers under Tension
Abstract
We introduce an anisotropic mean-field approach for the dynamics of semiflexible polymers under intermediate tension, the force range where a chain is partially extended but not in the asymptotic regime of a nearly straight contour. The theory is designed to exactly reproduce the lowest order equilibrium averages of a stretched polymer, and treats the full complexity of the problem: the resulting dynamics include the coupled effects of long-range hydrodynamic interactions, backbone stiffness, and large-scale polymer contour fluctuations. Validated by Brownian hydrodynamics simulations and comparison to optical tweezer measurements on stretched DNA, the theory is highly accurate in the intermediate tension regime over a broad dynamical range, without the need for additional dynamic fitting parameters.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0908.0376,
title = {Anisotropic Hydrodynamic Mean-Field Theory for Semiflexible Polymers under Tension},
author = {Michael Hinczewski and Roland R. Netz},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0908.0376},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
22 pages, 9 figures; revised version with additional calculations and experimental comparison; accepted for publication in Macromolecules