Partition function, metastability, and kinetics of the escape transition for an ideal chain

Abstract

The exact partition of the gaussian chain squeezed between two cylinders for a phase transition in a single macromolecule is analyzed. The polymer chain is squeezed between two pistons which results in abrupt transition from a confined coil state to an inhomogeneous conformation. The landau free energy is used in a one dimensional fokker-plank equation to predict the life-time of the metastable states. The analysis shows that the mean first passage time is estimated on the basis of the fokker-planck formalism