The elixir phase of chain molecule

TL;DR

This paper identifies a new phase of matter called the elixir phase in a simple polymer model, which exhibits protein-like structures and has implications for biology and nanotechnology.

Contribution

It introduces the elixir phase in a polymer model, showing how breaking cylindrical symmetry leads to protein-like ground states with multiple conformations.

Findings

The elixir phase exhibits multiple stable ground states.

It features structures similar to protein helices and sheets.

The phase has parallels with liquid crystal and spin glass phases.

Abstract

A phase of matter is a familiar notion for inanimate physical matter. The nature of a phase of matter transcends the microscopic material properties. For example, materials in the liquid phase have certain common properties independent of the chemistry of the constituents: liquids take the shape of the container; they flow; and they can be poured -- alcohol, oil and water as well as a Lennard-Jones computer model exhibit similar behavior when poised in the liquid phase. Here we identify a hitherto unstudied `phase' of matter, the elixir phase, in a simple model of a polymeric chain whose backbone has the correct local cylindrical symmetry induced by the tangent to the chain. The elixir phase appears on breaking the cylindrical symmetry by adding side spheres along the negative normal direction, as in proteins. This phase, nestled between other phases, has multiple ground states made up of building blocks of helices and almost planar sheets akin to protein native folds. We discuss the similarities of this `phase' of a finite size system to the liquid crystal and spin glass phases. Our findings are relevant for understanding proteins; the creation of novel bio-inspired nano-machines; and also may have implications for life elsewhere in the cosmos.