11 papers
Theory of Handedness Selection in Helices of Chiral Polymers and Biopolymers
Biman Bagchi
Helices are among the most common ordered structures in biological and synthetic polymers, but their formation involves more than local conformational preference. A finite helix mu…
Entropic Necks, Dynamic Crossovers, and Fragility in Supercooled Liquids
Biman Bagchi
The dramatic slowdown of dynamics in supercooled liquids is accompanied by a sequence of dynamical crossovers, most notably the transition from high-temperature collision-dominated…
Living Helices in Fluctuating Polymer Chains: Cooperative Nucleation, Dynamics, and Lifetime
Biman Bagchi
Helical segments in polymer chains are often transient, finite, and dynamically evolving, yet their origin and stability remain incompletely understood. Here we develop a minimal c…
Spatial Correlations Restore Zwanzig's Mean-Field Diffusion Result in Rugged Energy Landscapes
Biman Bagchi
Transport in disordered environments is often controlled not by typical fluctuations but by rare, extreme events that dominate long-time dynamics. In such settings, Zwanzig's class…
Microscopic Pathways to Helix Formation: Packing Stabilization and Sticky Interactions in Chiral Polymer Condensates
Biman Bagchi
Helices are not generic outcomes of polymer collapse. Collapsed conformations of semiflexible polymers with isotropic attractions typically form globules, toroids, or rod-like stru…
Effects of Dynamic Disorder on Diffusion in Rugged Energy Landscapes
Biman Bagchi
Established theoretical studies of diffusion in rugged (or rough) potential surfaces have largely focused on quenched energy landscapes. Here we study diffusion on a rugged energy…