Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Spontaneous formation of knots in long polymers at equilibrium is inevitable but becomes rare in sufficiently short chains. Here, we show that knotting increases by orders of magnitude in diblock polymers having a fraction p of self-propelled monomers. Remarkably, this enhancement is not monotonic in p with an optimal value independent of the monomer's activity. By monitoring the knot's size and position we elucidate the mechanisms of its formation, diffusion, and untying and ascribe the nonmonotonic behavior to the competition between the rate of knot formation and the knot's lifetime. These findings suggest a nonequilibrium mechanism to generate entangled filaments at the nano- and microscales.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Institutions: University of Padua, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
Language: English
Topic: Micro and Nano Robotics
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G2555300189, G6071846031, G7340954944
OpenAlex ID: W4409766032