Related papers: Pulling Knotted Polymers
We examine entanglements using monomer contacts between pairs of chains in a Brownian-dynamics simulation of a polymer melt. A map of contact positions with respect to the contacting monomer numbers (i,j) shows clustering in small regions…
We calculate the plateau moduli of several single-chain slip-link and slip-spring models for entangled polymers. In these models, the entanglement effects are phenomenologically modeled by introducing topological constraints such as…
We study a single flexible chain molecule grafted to a membrane which has pores of size slightly larger than the monomer size. On both sides of the membrane there is the same solvent. When this solvent is good, i.e. when the polymer is…
Cells possess non-membrane-bound bodies, many of which are now understood as phase-separated condensates. One class of such condensates is composed of two polymer species, where each consists of repeated binding sites that interact in a…
We present an in-depth multi-scale analysis of the conformations and dynamics of polar active polymers, comparing very dilute and very dense conditions. We unveil characteristic length and time scales, common to both dilute and dense…
We investigate the sedimentation of knotted polymers by means of stochastic rotation dynamics, a molecular dynamics algorithm that takes hydrodynamics fully into account. We show that the sedimentation coefficient s, related to the terminal…
The free energy cost of confining a star polymer where $f$ flexible polymer chains containing $N$ monomeric units are tethered to a central unit in a slit with two parallel repulsive walls a distance $D$ apart is considered, for good…
We use numerical simulations to study tangentially active flexible ring polymers with different knot topologies. Simple, unknotted active rings display a transition from an extended phase to a collapsed one upon increasing the degree of…
We use computer simulations to compare the dynamical behaviour of torus and even-twist knots in polymers under tension. The knots diffuse through a mechanism similar to reptation. Their friction coefficients grow linearly with average knot…
Every smooth closed curve can be represented by a suitable Fourier sum. We show that the ensemble of curves generated by randomly chosen Fourier coefficients with amplitudes inversely proportional to spatial frequency (with a smooth…
In this paper we examine the relative knotting probabilities in a lattice model of ring polymers confined in a cavity. The model is of a lattice knot of size $n$ in the cubic lattice, confined to a cube of side-length $L$ and with volume…
The viscous flow of polymer chains in dense melts is dominated by topological constraints whenever the single chain contour length, N, becomes larger than the characteristic scale Ne, defining comprehensively the macroscopic rheological…
Addition of polymers modifies a turbulent flow in a manner that depends non-trivially on the interplay of fluid inertia, quantified by the Reynolds number $Re$, and the elasticity of the dissolved polymers, given by the Deborah number $De$.…
Single partially confined collapsed polymers are studied in two dimensions. They are described by self-avoiding random walks with nearest-neighbour attractions below the $\Theta$-point, on the surface of an infinitely long cylinder. For the…
The statistical mechanics of polymer loops entangled in the two-dimensional array of randomly distributed obstacles of infinite length is discussed. The area of the loop projected to the plane perpendicular to the obstacles is used as a…
The conformational statistics of ring polymers in melts or dense solutions is strongly affected by their quenched microscopic topological state. The effect is particularly strong for untangled (i.e. non-concatenated and unknotted) rings,…
Using Monte Carlo simulations and advanced knot localization methods, we analyze the length and distribution of prime components in composite knots tied on Freely Jointed Rings (FJRs). For increasing contour length, we observe the…
The investigation of freezing transitions of single polymers is computationally demanding, since surface effects dominate the nucleation process. In recent studies we have systematically shown that the freezing properties of flexible,…
We report, through experimental observations and computer simulations, that atomic lattice interlocking can determine whether an object rolls or slides on a surface. We have quantitatively manipulated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a variety of…
Polymers are an effective test-bed for studying topological constraints in condensed matter due to a wide array of synthetically-available chain topologies. When linear and ring polymers are blended together, emergent rheological properties…