Statistics of Gaussian polymer chains in harmonic applied fields
Name
Statistics_of_Ideal_Polymer_Chains_v15.2.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
2.29 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
bc61c3b4211ff83bf49db65721fd8e52
Author(s)
Mikhail, John P
Rutledge, Gregory C
Date Issued
May 29, 2024
Journal
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Citation
John P Mikhail and Gregory C Rutledge 2024 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 36 345702
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
The model of an ideal polymer chain in a harmonic applied field has broad applicability in situations involving polymer confinement and deformation due to applied stress. In this work we (1) formulate a general analytical model for a continuous Gaussian chain under a harmonic applied potential and (2) evaluate the statistical mechanics of this model given the potential, obtaining partition functions and moment generating functions (MGFs) that describe the chain configurations. Closed-form expressions for the squared radius of gyration, potential energy, partition function, and MGF for the center of mass are obtained for a general and multidimensional harmonic field. The expressions are compared with results of Monte Carlo simulations of a discrete Gaussian chain as well as results for related systems obtained from the literature. The theory derived here is used to test the applicability of the current model assumptions to relations from the literature describing polymer confinement and deformation in experiment, theory, and simulations.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
10.1088/1361-648x/ad4a17
