Observation of acoustic umklapp-phonons in water-stabilized DNA by neutron scattering

We have investigated static and dynamic properties of wet-spun DNA fibers in their C, A, and B conformations using the thermal neutron scattering. Over-damped and underdamped longitudinal acoustic umklapp phonons are observed in the vicinity of a hydration-dependent two-dimensional sheet of diffuse scattering perpendicular to the helix axis. A quantitative analysis of this mode is presented for the B-DNA sample in terms of a harmonic one-dimensional liquid, i.e., taking into account all orders of fluctuations. The resulting effective dispersion does not extrapolate to zero frequency at the position of the sheet.