Related papers: The shapes of physical trefoil knots
Knots across various length scales, from micro to macro-scales, such as polymers, DNA, shoelaces, and surgery, serving their unique mechanical properties. The shape of ideal knots has been extensively studied in the context of knot theory,…
The shape of the most tight trefoil knot with N=200640 vertices found with an appropriately modified finite element method is analyzed. The high number of vertices makes plots of its curvature and torsion very precise what allows the…
We present a methodology to simulate the mechanics of knots in elastic rods using geometrically nonlinear, full three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis. We focus on the mechanical behavior of knots in tight configurations, for which…
The most tight conformation of the trefoil knot found by the SONO algorithm is presented. Structure of the set of its self-contact points is analyzed.
We study the equilibrium shapes of prime and composite knots confined to two dimensions. Using rigorous scaling arguments we show that, due to self-avoiding effects, the topological details of prime knots are localised on a small portion of…
We study simple, knotted and linked torus windings that are made of tubes of finite thickness. Knots which have the shortest rope length are often denoted ideal structures. Conventionally, the ideal structure are found by rope shortening…
Minimizing the bending energy within knot classes leads to the concept of elastic knots which has been initiated in [von der Mosel, Asymptot. Anal. 1998]. Motivated by numerical experiments in arxiv:1804.02206 (doi:10.1090/mcom/3633) we…
We report on the geometry and mechanics of knotted stiff strings. We discuss both closed and open knots. Our two main results are: (i) Their equilibrium energy as well as the equilibrium tension for open knots depend on the type of knot as…
Soft elastic filaments that can be stretched, bent and twisted exhibit a range of topologically and geometrically complex morphologies that include plectonemes, solenoids, knot-like and braid-like structures. We combine numerical…
We use numerical simulations of a bead-spring model chain to investigate the evolution of the conformation of long and flexible elastic fibers in a steady shear flow. In particular, for rather open initial configurations, and by varying a…
We report on new numerical computations of the set of self-contacts in tightly knotted tubes of uniform circular cross-section. Such contact sets have been obtained before for the trefoil and figure eight knots by simulated annealing -- we…
We derive solutions of the Kirchhoff equations for a knot tied on an infinitely long elastic rod subjected to combined tension and twist. We consider the case of simple (trefoil) and double (cinquefoil) knots; other knot topologies can be…
We investigate the elastic behavior of knotted loops of springy wire. To this end we minimize the classic bending energy $E_{\text{bend}}=\int\kappa^2$ together with a small multiple of ropelength $\mathcal R=\text{length}/\text{thickness}$…
Networks of flexible filaments often involve regions of tight contact. Predictively understanding the equilibrium configurations of these systems is challenging due to intricate couplings between topology, geometry, large nonlinear…
A coarse-grained computational model is used to investigate how the bending rigidity of a polymer under tension affects the formation of a trefoil knot. Thermodynamic integration techniques are applied to demonstrate that the free-energy…
Relatively extremal knots are the relative minima of the ropelength functional in C^1 topology. On the set curves of fixed length, they are the relative maxima of thickness (normal injectivity radius) functional, including the ideal knots.…
We study the dynamics of knotted deformable closed chains sedimenting in a viscous fluid. We show experimentally that trefoil and other torus knots often attain a remarkably regular horizontal toroidal structure while sedimenting, with a…
Three-dimensional images of evolving numerical trefoil vortex knots are used to study the growth and decay of the enstrophy and helicity. Negative helicity density ($h<0$) plays several roles. First, sheets of oppositely-signed helicity…
The interplay between the topological and geometrical properties of a polymer ring can be clarified by establishing the entanglement trapped in any portion (arc) of the ring. The task requires to close the open arcs into a ring, and the…
The most tight conformations of prime knots are found with the use of the SONO algorithm. Their curvature and torsion profiles are calculated. Symmetry of the knots is analysed. Connections with the physics of polymers are discussed.