Related papers: Topological effects in ring polymers: A computer s…
We use Brownian dynamics simulations and advanced topological profiling methods to characterize the out-of-equilibrium evolution of self-entanglement in linear polymers confined into nano-channels and under periodic compression. We…
We study the static and dynamical properties of a harmonically confined Rouse polymer coupled to a fluctuating correlated medium, which affect each other reciprocally during their stochastic evolution. The medium is modeled by a scalar…
In this chapter we review the rich behavior of polymer chains embedded in a quenched random environment. We first consider the problem of a Gaussian chain free to move in a random potential with short-ranged correlations. We derive the…
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…
We give two different, statistically consistent definitions of the length l of a prime knot tied into a polymer ring. In the good solvent regime the polymer is modelled by a self avoiding polygon of N steps on cubic lattice and l is the…
Using a theoretical model we show that ideal ring polymers are stronger depletants than ideal linear polymers of equal radii of gyration, but not of equal hydrodynamic radii. The difference in the depletion-induced force profile is largely…
We study reversible polymerization of rings. In this stochastic process, two monomers bond and as a consequence, two disjoint rings may merge into a compound ring, or, a single ring may split into two fragment rings. This…
Chromatin looping is a major epigenetic regulatory mechanism in higher eukaryotes. Besides its role in transcriptional regulation, chromatin loops have been proposed to play a pivotal role in the segregation of entire chromosomes. The…
The effect of topology on the collapse transition and instantaneous shape of an energy polydisperse polymer (a model heteropolymer) is studied by means of computer simulations. In particular, we consider three different chain topology,…
The mean area of a two-dimensional Gaussian ring of $N$ monomers is known to diverge when the ring is subject to a critical pressure differential, $p_c \sim N^{-1}$. In a recent publication [Eur. Phys. J. E 19, 461 (2006)] we have shown…
Soft-granular media, such as dense emulsions, foams or tissues, exhibit either fluid- or solid-like properties depending on the applied external stresses. Whereas bulk rheology of such materials has been thoroughly investigated, the…
Self-avoiding polymers in strictly two-dimensional ($d=2$) melts are investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulation of a standard bead-spring model with chain lengths ranging up to N=2048. % The chains adopt compact configurations…
Two ring polymers close to each other in space may be either in a segregated phase if there is a strong repulsion between monomers in the polymers, or intermingle in a mixed phase if there is a strong attractive force between the monomers.…
Chromosomes are crumpled polymer chains further folded into a sequence of stochastic loops via loop extrusion. While extrusion has been verified experimentally, the particular means by which the extruding complexes bind DNA polymer remains…
The topological effects on the thermal properties of several knot configurations are investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. In order to check if the topology of the knots is preserved during the thermal fluctuations we propose a method…
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…
The mechanical properties of polymer knots under stretching in a bad or good solvent are investigated by applying a given force $F$ to a point of the knot while keeping another point fixed. The Monte Carlo sampling of the polymer…
We investigate equal spheres packings generated from several experiments and from a large number of different numerical simulations. The structural organization of these disordered packings is studied in terms of the network of common…
We discuss simulations of a simple model for polymer blends in the framework of the Rouse model. At odds with standard predictions, large dynamic asymmetry between the two components induces strong non-exponentiality of the Rouse modes for…
We present a scaling theory describing the collapse of a homopolymer chain in poor solvent. At time t after the beginning of the collapse, the original Gaussian chain of length N is streamlined to form N/g segments of length R(t), each…