From particle condensation to polymer aggregation

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a strong analogy between droplet formation in dilute particle systems and polymer aggregation, using finite-size scaling and computer simulations to explore regimes previously inaccessible.

Contribution

It introduces a unified scaling framework for particle and polymer condensation, supported by extensive simulations and theoretical comparisons.

Findings

Evidence of intermediate scaling regimes in polymer and particle systems

Validation of theoretical scaling laws through simulation data

Identification of analogous condensation behaviors in dilute systems

Abstract

We draw an analogy between droplet formation in dilute particle and polymer systems. Our arguments are based on finite-size scaling results from studies of a two-dimensional lattice gas to three-dimensional bead-spring polymers. To set the results in perspective, we compare with in part rigorous theoretical scaling laws for canonical condensation in a supersaturated gas at fixed temperature, and derive corresponding scaling predictions for an undercooled gas at fixed density. The latter allows one to efficiently employ parallel multicanonical simulations and to reach previously not accessible scaling regimes. While the asymptotic scaling can not be observed for the comparably small polymer system sizes, they demonstrate an intermediate scaling regime also observable for particle condensation. Altogether, our extensive results from computer simulations provide clear evidence for the close analogy between particle condensation and polymer aggregation in dilute systems.