Active Polymer Behavior in Two Dimensions: A Comparative Analysis of Tangential and Push-Pull Models

TL;DR

This study compares the structural and dynamic behaviors of active polymers in two dimensions using different models, revealing how force definitions influence observed behaviors and phase transitions.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of tangential and push-pull active polymer models, emphasizing the role of force definitions in their behavior and phase transition insights.

Findings

Models behave similarly at low activity levels.

Differences emerge at intermediate activity, but behaviors converge at high activity.

Adjusting for mean active force yields nearly identical behaviors across models.

Abstract

In this work, we compare the structural and dynamic behavior of active filaments in two dimensions using tangential and push-pull models, including a variant with passive end monomers. These models serve as valuable frameworks for understanding self-organization in biological polymers and synthetic materials. At low activity, all models exhibit similar behaviors. Differences emerge in the intermediate range as activity increases, though at higher activity levels, their behaviors converge. Importantly, adjusting for differences in mean active force reveals nearly identical behavior across models. Our results highlight the importance of force definitions in active polymer simulations and provide insights into phase transitions across varying filament configurations.