Coil-to-globule collapse of active polymers: a Rouse perspective

TL;DR

This paper develops an effective Rouse model for active polymers with bending rigidity, explaining the coil-to-globule transition and unifying numerical data through a properly defined Peclet number.

Contribution

It introduces a Rouse-based theoretical framework for active polymers that accounts for bending rigidity and explains their collapse behavior.

Findings

The model captures the reduction in gyration radius in active polymers.

A proper Peclet number collapses numerical data onto a master curve.

The theory aligns with observed coil-to-globule transitions in simulations.

Abstract

We derive an effective Rouse model for tangentially active polymers, characterized by a constant active force tangent to their backbone. In particular, we show that, once extended to account for finite bending rigidity, such active Rouse model captures the reduction in the gyration radius, or coil-to-globule-like transition, that has been observed numerically in the literature for such active filaments. Interestingly, our analysis identifies the proper definition of the Peclet number, that allows to collapse all numerical data onto a master curve.