Propagation and Relaxation of Tension in Stiff Polymers

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive theory describing how tension propagates and relaxes in stiff polymers under various external stimuli, extending previous models and suggesting new experimental insights.

Contribution

It introduces a unified theoretical framework for the dynamic response of stiff polymers to diverse external perturbations, advancing understanding beyond prior heuristic approaches.

Findings

Extended previous models with a unified theory

Identified new experimental implications

Analyzed non-equilibrium stress propagation

Abstract

We present a unified theory for the longitudinal dynamic response of a stiff polymer in solution to various external perturbations (mechanical excitations, hydrodynamic flows, electrical fields, temperature quenches ...) that can be represented as sudden changes of ambient/boundary conditions. The theory relies on a comprehensive analysis of the non--equilibrium propagation and relaxation of backbone stresses in a wormlike chain. We recover and substantially extend previous results based on heuristic arguments. Intriguing new experimental implications are pointed out.