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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

The Mechanics of (Poro-)Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
Published on: March 10, 2023
Nonequilibrium relaxation of an elastic string in a random potential
Alejandro B Kolton1, Alberto Rosso, Thierry Giamarchi
1DPMC, Université de Genève, 24 Quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland.
Abstract:
We study the nonequilibrium motion of an elastic string in a two dimensional pinning landscape using Langevin dynamics simulations. The relaxation of a line, initially flat, is characterized by a growing length L(t) separating the equilibrated short length scales from the flat long distance geometry that keeps a memory of the initial condition. We show that, in the long time limit, L(t) has a nonalgebraic growth with a universal distribution function. The distribution function of waiting times is also calculated, and related to the previous distribution. The barrier distribution is narrow enough to justify arguments based on scaling of the typical barrier.
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