Entropic force of polymers on a cone tip
We consider polymers attached to the tip of a cone, and the resulting force due to entropy loss on approaching a plate (or another cone). At separations shorter than the polymer radius of gyration Rg, the only relevant length scale is the tip-plate (or tip-tip) separation h, and the entropic force i...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Other Authors: | |
Format: | Article |
Language: | en_US |
Published: |
IOP Publishing
2013
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/76595 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1112-5912 |
Summary: | We consider polymers attached to the tip of a cone, and the resulting force due to entropy loss on approaching a plate (or another cone). At separations shorter than the polymer radius of gyration Rg, the only relevant length scale is the tip-plate (or tip-tip) separation h, and the entropic force is given by F=Ak[subscript B]T/h. The universal amplitude A can be related to (geometry dependent) correlation exponents of long polymers. We compute A for phantom polymers, and for self-avoiding (including star) polymers by epsilon-expansion, as well as by numerical simulations in 3 dimensions. |
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