Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains
Recent theoretical progress has explained the physics of knotting of semiflexible polymers, yet knotting of flexible polymers is relatively unexplored. We herein develop a new theory for the size distribution of knots on a flexible polymer and the existence of metastable knots. We show the free ener...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Physical Society
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/93176 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1687-4522 |
| _version_ | 1826203750930317312 |
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| author | Dai, Liang Doyle, Patrick S. Renner, Christopher Benjamin |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering Dai, Liang Doyle, Patrick S. Renner, Christopher Benjamin |
| author_sort | Dai, Liang |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Recent theoretical progress has explained the physics of knotting of semiflexible polymers, yet knotting of flexible polymers is relatively unexplored. We herein develop a new theory for the size distribution of knots on a flexible polymer and the existence of metastable knots. We show the free energy of a flexible molecule in a tube can be mapped to quantitatively reproduce the free energy distribution of a knot on a flexible chain. The size distribution of knots on flexible chains is expected to be universal and might be observed at a macroscopic scale, such as a string of hard balls. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:42:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/93176 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:42:28Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/931762022-09-28T09:33:34Z Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains Dai, Liang Doyle, Patrick S. Renner, Christopher Benjamin Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering Renner, Christopher Benjamin Doyle, Patrick S. Recent theoretical progress has explained the physics of knotting of semiflexible polymers, yet knotting of flexible polymers is relatively unexplored. We herein develop a new theory for the size distribution of knots on a flexible polymer and the existence of metastable knots. We show the free energy of a flexible molecule in a tube can be mapped to quantitatively reproduce the free energy distribution of a knot on a flexible chain. The size distribution of knots on flexible chains is expected to be universal and might be observed at a macroscopic scale, such as a string of hard balls. Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant 1335938) 2015-01-23T18:07:20Z 2015-01-23T18:07:20Z 2015-01 2014-10 2015-01-22T23:00:06Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0031-9007 1079-7114 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/93176 Dai, Liang, C. Benjamin Renner, and Patrick S. Doyle. "Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains." Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 037801 (January 2015). © 2015 American Physical Society https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1687-4522 en http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.037801 Physical Review Letters Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. American Physical Society application/pdf American Physical Society American Physical Society |
| spellingShingle | Dai, Liang Doyle, Patrick S. Renner, Christopher Benjamin Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains |
| title | Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains |
| title_full | Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains |
| title_fullStr | Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains |
| title_full_unstemmed | Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains |
| title_short | Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains |
| title_sort | origin of metastable knots in single flexible chains |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/93176 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1687-4522 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dailiang originofmetastableknotsinsingleflexiblechains AT doylepatricks originofmetastableknotsinsingleflexiblechains AT rennerchristopherbenjamin originofmetastableknotsinsingleflexiblechains |