Dynamics of semiflexible treelike polymeric networks

We study the dynamics of general treelike networks, which are semiflexible due to restrictions on the orientations of their bonds. For this we extend the generalized Gaussian structure model, in which the dynamics obeys Langevin equations coupled through a dynamical matrix. We succeed in formulating analytically this matrix for arbitrary treelike networks and stiffness coefficients. This allows the straightforward determination of dynamical characteristics relevant to mechanical and dielectric relaxation. We show that our approach also follows from the maximum entropy principle; this principle was previously implemented for linear polymers and we extend it here to arbitrary treelike architectures.