Unwinding Relaxation Dynamics of Polymers

J. -C. Walter; M. Baiesi; G. T. Barkema; E. Carlon

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.068301

Unwinding Relaxation Dynamics of Polymers

J. -C. Walter^*
, M. Baiesi
, G. T. Barkema
, E. Carlon

^*Corresponding author for this work

Sub Condensed-Matter Theory, Statistical and Computational Physics

Leiden University
University of Padua
Utrecht University
KU Leuven
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The relaxation dynamics of a polymer wound around a fixed obstacle constitutes a fundamental instance of polymer with twist and torque, and it is also of relevance for DNA denaturation dynamics. We investigate it by simulations and Langevin equation analysis. The latter predicts a relaxation time scaling as a power of the polymer length times a logarithmic correction related to the equilibrium fluctuations of the winding angle. The numerical data support this result and show that at short times the winding angle decreases as a power law. This is also in agreement with the Langevin equation provided a winding-dependent friction is used, suggesting that such reduced description of the system captures the basic features of the problem. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.068301

Original language	English
Article number	068301
Number of pages	4
Journal	Physical Review Letters
Volume	110
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.068301
Publication status	Published - 4 Feb 2013

Funding

We thank Helmut Schiessel for interesting discussions. This work is a part of the research program of the Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM), which is financially supported by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO). Financial support from KU Leuven Grant No. STRT1/09/042 is gratefully acknowledged.

Keywords

WINDING-ANGLE DISTRIBUTIONS
WALKS

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10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.068301

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title = "Unwinding Relaxation Dynamics of Polymers",

abstract = "The relaxation dynamics of a polymer wound around a fixed obstacle constitutes a fundamental instance of polymer with twist and torque, and it is also of relevance for DNA denaturation dynamics. We investigate it by simulations and Langevin equation analysis. The latter predicts a relaxation time scaling as a power of the polymer length times a logarithmic correction related to the equilibrium fluctuations of the winding angle. The numerical data support this result and show that at short times the winding angle decreases as a power law. This is also in agreement with the Langevin equation provided a winding-dependent friction is used, suggesting that such reduced description of the system captures the basic features of the problem. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.068301",

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AU - Walter, J. -C.

AU - Baiesi, M.

AU - Barkema, G. T.

AU - Carlon, E.

PY - 2013/2/4

Y1 - 2013/2/4

N2 - The relaxation dynamics of a polymer wound around a fixed obstacle constitutes a fundamental instance of polymer with twist and torque, and it is also of relevance for DNA denaturation dynamics. We investigate it by simulations and Langevin equation analysis. The latter predicts a relaxation time scaling as a power of the polymer length times a logarithmic correction related to the equilibrium fluctuations of the winding angle. The numerical data support this result and show that at short times the winding angle decreases as a power law. This is also in agreement with the Langevin equation provided a winding-dependent friction is used, suggesting that such reduced description of the system captures the basic features of the problem. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.068301

AB - The relaxation dynamics of a polymer wound around a fixed obstacle constitutes a fundamental instance of polymer with twist and torque, and it is also of relevance for DNA denaturation dynamics. We investigate it by simulations and Langevin equation analysis. The latter predicts a relaxation time scaling as a power of the polymer length times a logarithmic correction related to the equilibrium fluctuations of the winding angle. The numerical data support this result and show that at short times the winding angle decreases as a power law. This is also in agreement with the Langevin equation provided a winding-dependent friction is used, suggesting that such reduced description of the system captures the basic features of the problem. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.068301

KW - WINDING-ANGLE DISTRIBUTIONS

KW - WALKS

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DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.068301

M3 - Article

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VL - 110

JO - Physical Review Letters

JF - Physical Review Letters

IS - 6

M1 - 068301

ER -

Unwinding Relaxation Dynamics of Polymers

Abstract

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Keywords

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