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Internal dynamics of semiflexible polymers with active noise
Thomas Eisenstecken1, Gerhard Gompper1, Roland G Winkler1
1Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|April 24, 2017
Summary
Active noise significantly alters polymer dynamics, causing flexible and semiflexible polymers to shift behavior based on activity levels. This research explores polymer relaxation and enhanced diffusion under active conditions.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Physics
- Soft Matter Physics
- Statistical Mechanics
Background:
- Understanding polymer dynamics is crucial in various fields, from biology to materials science.
- Active matter systems, driven by internal energy conversion, exhibit unique collective behaviors distinct from passive systems.
- The influence of active noise on polymer conformation and motion remains an active area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To theoretically investigate the intramolecular dynamics of flexible and semiflexible polymers subjected to active noise.
- To analyze how active noise, originating from external active Brownian particles or intrinsic polymer activity, affects polymer behavior.
- To elucidate the crossover in dynamics from bending elasticity-dominated to flexible polymer behavior with increasing activity.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical study using the continuous Gaussian semiflexible-polymer model.
- Inclusion of finite polymer extensibility in the model.
- Analytical calculations of polymer dynamics, including end-to-end vector correlation functions and mean squared displacement.
Main Results:
- Active noise strongly influences polymer dynamics, inducing a crossover from bending elasticity-dominated to flexible polymer behavior.
- The end-to-end vector correlation function exhibits exponential decay, governed by polymer relaxation for long, flexible polymers and by individual active Brownian particle relaxation for shorter, stiffer polymers.
- Activity substantially enhances polymer diffusion, leading to three distinct regimes: ballistic, Rouse-type, and free diffusion.
Conclusions:
- Active semiflexible polymers display a transition in dynamics dependent on activity strength.
- Polymer relaxation times and individual active particle dynamics dictate correlation function decay.
- Activity-driven dynamics lead to enhanced diffusion with identifiable regimes, highlighting the significant impact of active noise on polymer behavior.