Related papers: Entropic competition between knots and slip-links
We study the interplay between entropy and topological constraints for a polymer chain in which sliding rings (slip-links) enforce pair contacts between monomers. These slip-links divide a closed ring polymer into a number of sub-loops…
The entropic pressure in the vicinity of a cubic lattice knot is examined as a model of the entropic pressure near a knotted ring polymer in a good solvent. A model for the scaling of the pressure is developed and this is tested numerically…
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…
Computer simulations are used to characterize the entropic force of one or more polymers tethered to the tip of a hard conical object that interact with a nearby hard flat surface. Pruned-enriched-Rosenbluth-method (PERM) Monte Carlo…
Topological entanglements are abundant, and often detrimental, in polymeric systems in biology and materials science. Here we theoretically investigate the topological simplification of knots by diffusing slip-links (SLs), which may…
We compare Monte Carlo simulations of knotted and unknotted polymers whose ends are connected to two parallel walls. The force $f$ exerted on the polymer is measured as a function of the separation $R$ between the walls. For unknotted…
In the first part of this work a summary is provided of some recent experiments and theoretical results which are relevant in the research of systems of polymer rings in nontrivial topological conformations. Next, some advances in modeling…
We consider polymers attached to the tip of a cone, and the resulting force due to entropy loss on approaching a plate (or another cone). At separations shorter than the polymer radius of gyration R_g, the only relevant length scale is the…
By performing Monte Carlo sampling of $N$-steps self-avoiding polygons embedded on different Bravais lattices we explore the robustness of universality in the entropic, metric and geometrical properties of knotted polymer rings. In…
We study a model of "elastic" lattice polymer in which a fixed number of monomers $m$ is hosted by a self-avoiding walk with fluctuating length $l$. We show that the stored length density $\rho_m = 1 - <l>/m$ scales asymptotically for large…
The interplay of topological constraints and Coulomb interactions in static and dynamic properties of charged polymers is investigated by numerical simulations and scaling arguments. In the absence of screening, the long-range interaction…
We consider the probability of knotting in equilateral random polygons in Euclidean 3-dimensional space, which model, for instance, random polymers. Results from an extensive Monte Carlo dataset of random polygons indicate a universal…
The number of configurations of a polymer is reduced in the presence of a barrier or an obstacle. The resulting loss of entropy adds a repulsive component to other forces generated by interaction potentials. When the obstructions are scale…
The statistical mechanics of single polymer knots is studied using Monte Carlo simulations. The polymers are considered on a cubic lattice and their conformations are randomly changed with the help of pivot transformations. After each…
We introduce and implement a Monte Carlo scheme to study the equilibrium statistics of polymers in the globular phase. It is based on a model of "interacting elastic lattice polymers" and allows a sufficiently good sampling of long and…
We study the correlations of classical hardcore dimer models doped with monomers by Monte Carlo simulation. We introduce an efficient cluster algorithm, which is applicable in any dimension, for different lattices and arbitrary doping. We…
Competing phases or interactions in complex many-particle systems can result in free energy barriers that strongly suppress thermal equilibration. Here we discuss how extended ensemble Monte Carlo simulations can be used to study the…
The statistical mechanics of a long knotted collapsed polymer is determined by a free-energy with a knot-dependent subleading term, which is linked to the length of the shortest polymer that can hold such knot. The only other parameter…
The entropic force exerted by the Brownian fluctuations of a grafted semiflexible polymer upon a rigid smooth wall are calculated both analytically and by Monte Carlo simulations. Such forces are thought to play an important role for…
Polymer quantization is as a useful toy model for the mathematical aspects of loop quantum gravity and is interesting in its own right. Analyzing entropies of physically equivalent states in the standard Hilbert space and the polymer…