Conformation and dynamics of active polymers with one end fixed

Area of Science:

• Polymer physics
• Biophysics
• Soft matter physics

Background:

• Active polymers are crucial in biophysics and polymer physics.
• Their behavior under boundary constraints is a key research area.

Purpose of the Study:

• Compare polar active polymers with one end fixed.
• Investigate how tail vs. head fixation influences conformational and dynamical properties.

Main Methods:

• Comparative study of polar active polymers.
• Analysis of conformational and dynamical behaviors under different fixation points.

Main Results:

• Tail fixation leads to non-uniform stretching and non-monotonic relaxation dependence on activity.
• Head fixation results in uniform compression and yarn-ball structures with distinct dynamics.
• Identified novel scaling relations for polymer size (Rg~N⁻⁰.³⁸), relaxation time (τr*~N⁰.⁶), and activity (τr*~Pe⁻¹.³⁵).

Conclusions:

• The fixation point critically determines active polymer behavior.
• Results offer insights into activity-boundary condition interplay.
• Findings may guide the design of bioinspired active materials.