Segregation of Polymers in Confined Spaces
Biological Physics
2012-11-20 v2 Soft Condensed Matter
Abstract
We investigate the motion of two overlapping polymers with self-avoidance confined in a narrow 2d box. A statistical model is constructed using blob free-energy arguments. We find spontaneous segregation under the condition: , and mixing under , where L is the length of the box, and the polymer extension in an infinite slit. Segregation time scales are determined by solving a mean first-passage time problem, and by performing Monte Carlo simulations. Predictions of the two methods show good agreement. Our results may elucidate a driving force for chromosomes segregation in bacteria.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0906.4023,
title = {Segregation of Polymers in Confined Spaces},
author = {Ya Liu and Bulbul Chakraborty},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0906.4023},
year = {2012}
}