Related papers: Transient helix formation in semiflexible polymers…

When liquid-crystal elastomers are prepared without any alignment, disordered polydomain structures emerge as the materials are cooled into the nematic phase. These polydomain structures have been attributed to quenched disorder in the…

Using molecular dynamics simulations of a tangent-soft-sphere bead-spring polymer model, we examine the degree to which semiflexible polymer melts solidify at isostaticity. Flexible and stiff chains crystallize when they are isostatic as…

Constitutive equations are derived for the viscoelastic response of rubbery polymers at finite strains. A polymer is thought of as a network of long chains connected to temporary junctions. At a random time, a chain detaches from a…

We propose and solve a simple model describing secondary structure formation in random hetero-polymers. It describes monomers with a combination of one-dimensional short-range interactions (representing steric forces and hydrogen bonds) and…

The time-dependent transverse response of stiff polymers, represented as weakly-bending wormlike chains (WLCs), is well-understood on the linear level, where transverse degrees of freedom evolve independently from the longitudinal ones. We…

The stretching of a polymer chain by a large scale chaotic flow is considered. The steady state which emerges as a balance of the turbulent stretching and anharmonic resistance of the chain is quantitatively described, i.e. the dependency…

The problem of the helix-coil transition of biopolymers in explicit solvents, like water, with the ability for hydrogen bonding with solvent is addressed analytically using a suitably modified version of the Generalized Model of Polypeptide…

We present a mean-field dynamical theory for single semiflexible polymers which can precisely capture, without fitting parameters, recent fluorescence correlation spectroscopy results on single monomer kinetics of DNA strands in solution.…

Conformations of a single semiflexible polymer chain dissolved in a low molecular weight liquid crystalline solvents (nematogens) are examined by using a mean field theory. We takes into account a stiffness and partial orientational…

We use molecular dynamics simulations of a simple model to show that dispersions of slightly elongated colloidal particles with long-range dipolar interactions, like ferrofluids, can form a physical (reversible) gel at low volume fractions.…

We propose and study a model for the equilibrium statistical mechanics of a pressurised semiflexible polymer ring. The Hamiltonian has a term which couples to the algebraic area of the ring and a term which accounts for bending…

We examine the effects of thermal fluctuations on thin elastic filaments with non-circular cross-section and arbitrary spontaneous curvature and torsion. Analytical expressions for orientational correlation functions and for the persistence…

Topological entanglements in polymers are mimicked by sliding rings (slip-links) which enforce pair contacts between monomers. We study the force-extension curve for linear polymers in which slip-links create additional loops of variable…

Intimately connected to the rule of life, chirality remains a long-time fascination in biology, chemistry, physics and materials science. Chiral structures, e.g., nucleic acid and cholesteric phase developed from chiral molecules are common…

Enhanced colloidal transport beyond the limit imposed by diffusion is usually achieved through external fields. Here, we demonstrate the ballistic transport of a colloidal sphere using internal sources of energy provided by an attached…

By adding minute concentrations of a high molecular weight polymer, liquid jets or bridges collapsing under the action of surface tension develop a characteristic shape of uniform threads connecting spherical fluid drops. In this paper,…

We study the pattern formation of chiral charges in the presence of reactions. We show that, in contrast to the original Turing's mechanism of pattern formation in diffusion-reaction systems, the interplay between chiral effects and…

The fracture and severing of polymer chains plays a critical role in the failure of fibrous materials and the regulated turnover of intracellular filaments. Using continuum wormlike chain models, we investigate the fracture of semiflexible…

Many bacteria use rotating helical flagellar filaments to swim. The filaments undergo polymorphic transformations in which the helical pitch and radius change abruptly. These transformations arise in response to mechanical loading, changes…

Nanometer-thick supported lms of polymer melts spontaneously form and spread around sessile droplets that are deposited on oxidized silicon wafers. At steady state, the lms become dense and adopt a uniform thickness which is equal to twice…