Rotational dynamics of entangled polymers

• Main Authors: Walter, Jean-Charles, Laleman, Michiel, Baiesi, Marco, Carlon, Enrico
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-09-2014
• Subjects: Physics - Soft Condensed Matter; Physics - Statistical Mechanics
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1409.0378

Some recent results on the rotational dynamics of polymers are reviewed and
extended. We focus here on the relaxation of a polymer, either flexible or
semiflexible, initially wrapped around a rigid rod. We also study the steady
polymer rotation generated by a constant torque on the rod. The interplay of
frictional and entropic forces leads to a complex dynamical behavior
characterized by non-trivial universal exponents. The results are based on
extensive simulations of polymers undergoing Rouse dynamics and on an
analytical approach using force balance and scaling arguments. The analytical
results are in general in good agreement with the simulations, showing how a
simplified approach can correctly capture the complex dynamical behavior of
rotating polymers.