Linear response of a grafted semiflexible polymer to a uniform force field

TL;DR

This paper analytically investigates how a grafted semiflexible polymer responds linearly to a uniform force field, considering factors like stiffness, temperature, and charge distribution, using the worm-like chain model.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analytical framework for the linear response of semiflexible polymers, including effects of charge sequences and intrinsic stiffness.

Findings

Response depends on bending stiffness, temperature, and field orientation.

Finite intrinsic persistence length influences the response to external fields.

Periodic charge sequences modulate the polymer's response.

Abstract

We use the worm-like chain model to analytically calculate the linear response of a grafted semiflexible polymer to a uniform force field. The result is a function of the bending stiffness, the temperature, the total contour length, and the orientation of the field with respect to that of the grafted end. We also study the linear response of a worm-like chain with a periodic alternating sequence of positive and negative charges. This can be considered as a model for a polyampholyte with intrinsic bending siffness and negligible intramolecular interactions. We show how the finite intrinsic persistence length affects the linear response to the external field.