Scaling in rupture of polymer chains

Abstract

We consider the rupture dynamics of a homopolymer chain pulled at one end at a constant loading rate r. Compared to single bond breaking, the existence of the chain introduces two new aspects into rupture dynamics: the non-Markovian aspect in the barrier crossing and the slow-down of the force propagation to the breakable bond. The relative impact of both these processes is investigated, and the second one was found to be the most important at moderate loading rates. The most probable rupture force is found to decrease with the number of bonds as f_{max} const-(ln(N/r))^(2/3) and finally to approach a saturation value independent on N. All our analytical findings are confirmed by extensive numerical simulations.

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