Origin of Metastable Knots in Single Flexible Chains

Liang Dai, C. Benjamin Renner, and Patrick S. Doyle
Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 037801 – Published 22 January 2015
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Abstract

Recent theoretical progress has explained the physics of knotting of semiflexible polymers, yet knotting of flexible polymers is relatively unexplored. We herein develop a new theory for the size distribution of knots on a flexible polymer and the existence of metastable knots. We show the free energy of a flexible molecule in a tube can be mapped to quantitatively reproduce the free energy distribution of a knot on a flexible chain. The size distribution of knots on flexible chains is expected to be universal and might be observed at a macroscopic scale, such as a string of hard balls.

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  • Received 28 October 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.037801

© 2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Liang Dai1, C. Benjamin Renner2, and Patrick S. Doyle1,2,*

  • 1BioSystems and Micromechanics IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Centre, Singapore 117543, Singapore
  • 2Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA

  • *pdoyle@mit.edu

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Issue

Vol. 114, Iss. 3 — 23 January 2015

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