How Long Does It Take to Pull an Ideal Polymer into a Small Hole?
Abstract
We present scaling estimates for characteristic times τlin and τbr of pulling ideal linear and randomly branched polymers of N monomers into a small hole by a force f. We show that the absorbtion process develops as sequential straightening of folds of the initial polymer configuration. By estimating the typical size of the fold involved into the motion, we arrive at the following predictions, τlin(N)∼N3/2/f and τbr(N)∼N5/4/f, and we also confirm them by the molecular dynamics experiment.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Letters
- Pub Date:
- June 2006
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.228105
- arXiv:
- arXiv:cond-mat/0510418
- Bibcode:
- 2006PhRvL..96v8105G
- Keywords:
-
- 87.15.He;
- 05.40.-a;
- 05.70.-a;
- Dynamics and conformational changes;
- Fluctuation phenomena random processes noise and Brownian motion;
- Thermodynamics;
- Condensed Matter - Statistical Mechanics;
- Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, 3 figures