Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Dilute solutions of linear polymer chains with tangentially active monomeric beads are simulated using a Brownian dynamics (BD) algorithm over a range of solvent quality in the thermal crossover regime between $θ$ and athermal solvents. The conformational changes with increasing P{é}clet number ($Pe$) (which is proportional to the strength of activity) suggest deswelling of the chains resulting in a collapse of the radius of gyration data to a random walk (RW) statistics at a unique value of $Pe$, independent of the solvent quality. The swelling behaviour of active polymers in the crossover regime relative to their size at the $θ$ state is found to follow the same universal characteristics as that of passive polymer chains. Furthermore, based on polymer blob theory we present a novel scaling of the thermal blob size with tangential activity of the monomeric beads which leads to the definition of a renormalized solvent quality parameter for active polymers. Altogether, this work establishes a connection between the configurational properties of active polymers and scaling laws in polymer physics, which provides a useful framework to study the dynamics of activity induced motion of polymeric molecules for various applications in biophysics and other related areas.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Tripathi, Suryansh, Santra, Aritra
Institution: Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad
Language: English
Topic: Micro and Nano Robotics
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7202368310