2002/07/10 by Paul Dommersnes, Paul G. Dommersnes, Yacov Kantor +1
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Block Copolymer Self-Assembly #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Theoretical and Computational Physics #cond-mat.soft #cond-mat.stat-mech
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreve.66.031802
published as Physical Review E 66, 031802 (2002) · Revtex4, 9 pages, 9 eps figures
arxiv created 2002/07/10 · openalex publication_date 2002/09/19 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The interplay of topological constraints and Coulomb interactions in static and dynamic properties of charged polymers is investigated by numerical simulations and scaling arguments. In the absence of screening, the long-range interaction localizes irreducible topological constraints into tight molecular knots, while composite constraints are factored and separated. Even when the forces are screened, tight knots may survive as local (or even global) equilibria, as long as the overall rigidity of the polymer is dominated by the Coulomb interactions. As entanglements involving tight knots are not easy to eliminate, their presence greatly influences the relaxation times of the system. In particular, we find that tight knots in open polymers are removed by diffusion along the chain, rather than by opening up. The knot diffusion coefficient actually decreases with its charge density, and for highly charged polymers the knot's position appears frozen.