Statistical mechanics of double-stranded semi-flexible polymers

TL;DR

This paper investigates the statistical mechanics of double-stranded semi-flexible polymers, revealing a temperature-driven transition affecting their correlation functions and structural properties, with implications for understanding actin behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a combined analytical and simulation approach to identify a novel temperature-induced transition in double-stranded semi-flexible polymers, highlighting a kink-rod structure at low temperatures.

Findings

Transition from one type of short-range order to another at finite temperature

High temperature correlation functions match worm-like chain models

Low temperature phase exhibits a kink-rod structure

Abstract

We study the statistical mechanics of double-stranded semi-flexible polymers using both analytical techniques and simulation. We find a transition at some finite temperature, from a type of short range order to a fundamentally different sort of short range order. In the high temperature regime, the 2-point correlation functions of the object are identical to worm-like chains, while in the low temperature regime they are different due to a twist structure. In the low temperature phase, the polymers develop a kink-rod structure which could clarify some recent puzzling experiments on actin.