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arXiv · 1309.2665

Universal monomer dynamics of a two dimensional semi-flexible chain

Aiqun Huang·Ramesh Adhikari·Aniket Bhattacharya·Kurt Binder
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Abstract

We present a unified scaling theory for the dynamics of monomers for dilute solutions of semiflexible polymers under good solvent conditions in the free draining limit. Our theory encompasses the well-known regimes of mean square displacements (MSDs) of stiff chains growing like t^{3/4} with time due to bending motions, and the Rouse-like regime t^{2 ν/ (1+ 2ν)} where νis the Flory exponent describing the radius R of a swollen flexible coil. We identify how the prefactors of these laws scale with the persistence length l_p, and show that a crossover from stiff to flexible behavior occurs at a MSD of order l^2_p (at a time proportional to l^3_p). A second crossover (to diffusive motion) occurs when the MSD is of order R^2. Large scale Molecular Dynamics simulations of a bead-spring model with a bond bending potential (allowing to vary l_p from 1 to 200 Lennard-Jones units) provide compelling evidence for the theory, in D=2 dimensions where ν=3/4. Our results should be valuable for understanding the dynamics of DNA (and other semiflexible biopolymers) adsorbed on substrates.

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Aiqun Huang, Ramesh Adhikari, Aniket Bhattacharya, Kurt Binder. 2013-09-10. Universal monomer dynamics of a two dimensional semi-flexible chain. https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075%2F105%2F18002

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