215 research outputs found
Adsorption of a random heteropolymer at a potential well revisited: location of transition point and design of sequences
The adsorption of an ideal heteropolymer loop at a potential point well is
investigated within the frameworks of a standard random matrix theory. On the
basis of semi-analytical/semi-numerical approach the histogram of transition
points for the ensemble of quenched heteropolymer structures with bimodal
symmetric distribution of types of chain's links is constructed. It is shown
that the sequences having the transition points in the tail of the histogram
display the correlations between nearest-neighbor monomers.Comment: 11 pages (revtex), 3 figure
The Effects of Stacking on the Configurations and Elasticity of Single Stranded Nucleic Acids
Stacking interactions in single stranded nucleic acids give rise to
configurations of an annealed rod-coil multiblock copolymer. Theoretical
analysis identifies the resulting signatures for long homopolynucleotides: A
non monotonous dependence of size on temperature, corresponding effects on
cyclization and a plateau in the extension force law. Explicit numerical
results for poly(dA) and poly(rU) are presented.Comment: 4 pages and 2 figures. Accepted in Phys. Rev. E Rapid Com
Localization in simple multiparticle catalytic absorption model
We consider the phase transition in the system of n simultaneously developing
random walks on the halfline x>=0. All walks are independent on each others in
all points except the origin x=0, where the point well is located. The well
depth depends on the number of particles simultaneously staying at x=0. We
consider the limit n>>1 and show that if the depth growth faster than 3/2 n
ln(n) with n, then all random walks become localized simultaneously at the
origin. In conclusion we discuss the connection of that problem with the phase
transition in the copolymer chain with quenched random sequence of monomers
considered in the frameworks of replica approach.Comment: 17 pages in LaTeX, 5 PostScript figures; submitted to J.Phys.(A):
Math. Ge
Influence of the structural modulations and the Chain-ladder interaction in the compounds
We studied the effects of the incommensurate structural modulations on the
ladder subsystem of the family of compounds
using ab-initio explicitly-correlated calculations. From these calculations we
derived model as a function of the fourth crystallographic coordinate
describing the incommensurate modulations. It was found that in the
highly calcium-doped system, the on-site orbital energies are strongly
modulated along the ladder legs. On the contrary the two sites of the ladder
rungs are iso-energetic and the holes are thus expected to be delocalized on
the rungs. Chain-ladder interactions were also evaluated and found to be very
negligible. The ladder superconductivity model for these systems is discussed
in the light of the present results.Comment: 8 octobre 200
The non-centrosymmetric lamellar phase in blends of ABC triblock and ac diblock copolymers
The phase behaviour of blends of ABC triblock and ac diblock copolymers is
examined using self-consistent field theory. Several equilibrium lamellar
structures are observed, depending on the volume fraction of the diblocks,
phi_2, the monomer interactions, and the degrees of polymerization of the
copolymers. For segregations just above the order-disorder transition the
triblocks and diblocks mix together to form centrosymmetric lamellae. As the
segregation is increased the triblocks and diblocks spatially separate either
by macrophase-separating, or by forming a non-centrosymmetric (NCS) phase of
alternating layers of triblock and diblock (...ABCcaABCca...). The NCS phase is
stable over a narrow region near phi_2=0.4. This region is widest near the
critical point on the phase coexistence curve and narrows to terminate at a
triple point at higher segregation. Above the triple point there is two-phase
coexistence between almost pure triblock and diblock phases. The theoretical
phase diagram is consistent with experiments.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Macromolecule
A Quantitative Theory of Mechanical Unfolding of a Homopolymer Globule
We propose the quantitative mean-field theory of mechanical unfolding of a
globule formed by long flexible homopolymer chain collapsed in poor solvent and
subjected to extensional deformation. We demonstrate that depending on the
degree of polymerization and solvent quality (quantified by the Flory-Huggins
parameter) the mechanical unfolding of the collapsed chain may either
occur continuously (by passing a sequence of uniformly elongated
configurations) or involves intra-molecular micro-phase coexistence of a
collapsed and a stretched segment followed by an abrupt unraveling transition.
The force-extension curves are obtained and quantitatively compared to our
recent results of numerical self-consistent field (SCF) simulations. The phase
diagrams for extended homopolymer chains in poor solvent comprising one- and
two-phase regions are calculated for different chain length or/and solvent
quality.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figure
Domains in Melts of Comb-Coil Diblock Copolymers: Superstrong Segregation Regime
Conditions for the crossover from the strong to the superstrong segregation regime are analyzed for the case of comb-coil diblock copolymers. It is shown that the critical interaction energy between the components required to induce the crossover to the superstrong segregation regime is inversely proportional to mb = 1 + n/m, where n is the degree of polymerization of the side chain and m is the distance between successive grafting points. As a result, the superstrong segregation regime, being rather rare in the case of ordinary block copolymers, has a much better chance to be realized in the case of diblock copolymers with combs grafted to one of the blocks.
Nematic-nematic phase separation in binary mixtures of thick and thin hard rods: Results from Onsager-like theories
Published versio
The nonlinear elasticity of an -helical polypeptide
We study a minimal extension of the worm-like chain to describe polypeptides
having alpha-helical secondary structure. In this model presence/absence of
secondary structure enters as a scalar variable that controls the local chain
bending modulus. Using this model we compute the extensional compliance of an
alpha-helix under tensile stress, the bending compliance of the molecule under
externally imposed torques, and the nonlinear interaction of such torques and
forces on the molecule. We find that, due to coupling of the ``internal''
secondary structure variables to the conformational degrees of freedom of the
polymer, the molecule has a highly nonlinear response to applied stress and
force couples. In particular we demonstrate a sharp lengthening transition
under applied force and a buckling transition under applied torque. Finally, we
speculate that the inherent bistability of the molecule may underlie protein
conformational change \emph{in vivo}.Comment: 16 pages, 7 eps figure
Scaling of Star Polymers with one to 80 Arms
We present large statistics simulations of 3-dimensional star polymers with
up to arms, and with up to 4000 monomers per arm for small values of
. They were done for the Domb-Joyce model on the simple cubic lattice. This
is a model with soft core exclusion which allows multiple occupancy of sites
but punishes each same-site pair of monomers with a Boltzmann factor . We
use this to allow all arms to be attached at the central site, and we use the
`magic' value to minimize corrections to scaling. The simulations are
made with a very efficient chain growth algorithm with resampling, PERM,
modified to allow simultaneous growth of all arms. This allows us to measure
not only the swelling (as observed from the center-to-end distances), but also
the partition sum. The latter gives very precise estimates of the critical
exponents . For completeness we made also extensive simulations of
linear (unbranched) polymers which give the best estimates for the exponent
.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
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