Diffusion-limited loop formation of semiflexible polymers: Kramers theory and the intertwined time scales of chain relaxation and closing

Abstract

We show that Kramers rate theory gives a straightforward, accurate estimate of the closing time ${\tau }_c$ of a semiflexible polymer that is valid in cases of physical interest. The calculation also reveals how the time scales of chain relaxation and closing are intertwined, illuminating an apparent conflict between two ways of calculating ${\tau }_c$ in the flexible limit.

Europhys. Lett., 2003 (in press). 8 pages, 3 figures. See also, physics/0101087 for physicist's approach to and the importance of semiflexible polymer looping, in DNA replication

References in corpus (2)

• Nucleosome repositioning via loop formation
• Non-Gaussian dynamics from a simulation of a short peptide: Loop closure rates and effective diffusion coefficients

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• The dynamics of loop formation in a semiflexible polymer
• Kinetics of rare events for non-Markovian stationary processes and application to polymer dynamics
• Effects of static and temporally fluctuating tensions on semiflexible polymer looping
• Thermal Fracture Kinetics of Heterogeneous Semiflexible Polymers