https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2007-10228-x
Regular Article
Fluctuating semiflexible polymer ribbon constrained to a ring
Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics and Center for NanoScience, Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Theresienstrasse 37, D-80333, München, Germany
* e-mail: karen.alim@physik.lmu.de
Received:
31
July
2007
Accepted:
11
October
2007
Published online:
9
November
2007
Twist stiffness and an asymmetric bending stiffness of a polymer or a polymer bundle is captured by the elastic ribbon model. We investigate the effects a ring geometry induces to a thermally fluctuating ribbon, finding bend-bend coupling in addition to twist-bend coupling. Furthermore, due to the geometric constraint the polymer's effective bending stiffness increases. A new parameter for experimental investigations of polymer bundles is proposed: the mean square diameter of a ribbonlike ring, which is determined analytically in the semiflexible limit. Monte Carlo simulations are performed which affirm the model's prediction up to high flexibility.
PACS: 87.15.Aa Theory and modeling; computer simulation – / 87.15.Ya Fluctuations – / 36.20.Ey Conformation (statistics and dynamics) – / 05.40.-a Fluctuation phenomena, random processes, noise, and Brownian motion –
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag, 2007
