Rings in Random Environments: Sensing Disorder Through Topology
Abstract
In this paper we study the role of topology in DNA gel electrophoresis experiments via molecular dynamics simulations. The gel is modelled as a 3D array of obstacles from which half edges are removed at random with probability p, thereby generating a disordered environment. Changes in the microscopic structure of the gel are captured by measuring the electrophoretic mobility of ring polymers moving through the medium, while their linear counterparts provide a control system as we show they are insensitive to these changes. We show that ring polymers provide a novel non-invasive way of exploiting topology to sense microscopic disorder. Finally, we compare the results from the simulations with an analytical model for the non-equilibrium differential mobility, and find a striking agreement between simulation and theory
Cite
@article{arxiv.1410.5980,
title = {Rings in Random Environments: Sensing Disorder Through Topology},
author = {Davide Michieletto and Marco Baiesi and Enzo Orlandini and Matthew S. Turner},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1410.5980},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
8 pages,6 figures Accepted for publication in Soft Matter