Unwinding Dynamics of a Helically Wrapped Polymer

Abstract

We study the rotational dynamics of a flexible polymer initially wrapped around a rigid rod and unwinding from it. This dynamics is of interest in several problems in biology and constitutes a fundamental instance of polymer relaxation from a state of minimal entropy. We investigate the dynamics of several quantities such as the total and local winding angles and metric quantities. The results of simulations performed in two and three dimensions, with and without self-avoidance, are explained by a theory based on scaling arguments and on a balance between frictional and entropic forces. The early stage of the dynamics is particularly rich, being characterized by three coexisting phases.

9 pages, 9 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Nonequilibrium dynamics of polymer translocation and straightening
• Breathing dynamics in heteropolymer DNA
• Anomalous dynamics of DNA hairpin folding
• Propagation of Tension along a Polymer Chain
• Unwinding relaxation dynamics of polymers

Cited by in corpus (8)

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• Linking in domain-swapped protein dimers
• Dynamical Scaling and Phase Coexistence in Topologically-Constrained DNA Melting
• Torque-Induced Rotational Dynamics in Polymers: Torsional Blobs and Thinning
• Role of helicity in DNA hairping folding dynamics
• Rotational dynamics of entangled polymers
• Hotter isn't faster for a melting RNA hairpin
• Winding angles of long lattice walks