Stretching helical nano-springs at finite temperature
Soft Condensed Matter
2008-03-31 v1 Statistical Mechanics
Abstract
Using dynamic simulations and analytic methods, we study the elastic response of a helical filament subject to uniaxial tension over a wide range of bend and twist persistence length. A low-pitch helix at low temperatures exhibits a stretching instability and the force-extension curve consists of a sequence of spikes. At elevated temperature (i.e. small persistence lengths) the helix melts and a pronounced force plateau is obtained in the fixed-extension ensemble. The torque boundary condition significantly affects the resulting elastic properties.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0803.4140,
title = {Stretching helical nano-springs at finite temperature},
author = {Hirofumi Wada and Roland R. Netz},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0803.4140},
year = {2008}
}