No Arabic abstract
We consider an arbitrarily charged polymer driven by a weak field through a gel according to the rules of the Rubinstein-Duke model. The probability distribution in the stationary state is related to that of the model in which only the head is charged. Thereby drift velocity, diffusion constant and orientation of any charged polymers are expressed in terms of those of the central model. Mapping the problem on a random walk of a tagged particle along a one-dimenional chain, leads to a unified scaling expression for the local orientation. It provides also an elucidation of the role of corrections to scaling.
We investigate the Rubinstein-Duke model for polymer reptation by means of density-matrix renormalization group techniques both in absence and presence of a driving field. In the former case the renewal time tau and the diffusion coefficient D are calculated for chains up to N=150 reptons and their scaling behavior in N is analyzed. Both quantities scale as powers of N: $tau sim N^z$ and $D sim 1/N^x$ with the asymptotic exponents z=3 and x=2, in agreement with the reptation theory. For an intermediate range of lengths, however, the data are well-fitted by some effective exponents whose values are quite sensitive to the dynamics of the end reptons. We find 2.7 <z< 3.3 and 1.8 <x< 2.1 for the range of parameters considered and we suggest how to influence the end reptons dynamics in order to bring out such a behavior. At finite and not too small driving field, we observe the onset of the so-called band inversion phenomenon according to which long polymers migrate faster than shorter ones as opposed to the small field dynamics. For chains in the range of 20 reptons we present detailed shapes of the reptating chain as function of the driving field and the end repton dynamics.
The competition between reptation and Rouse Dynamics is incorporated in the Rubinstein-Duke model for polymer motion by extending it with sideways motions, which cross barriers and create or annihilate hernias. Using the Density-Matrix Renormalization-Group Method as solver of the Master Equation, the renewal time and the diffusion coefficient are calculated as function of the length of the chain and the strength of the sideways motion. These new types of moves have a strong and delicate influence on the asymptotic behavior of long polymers. The effects are analyzed as function of the chain length in terms of effective exponents and crossover scaling functions.
We discuss the exact solution for the properties of the recently introduced ``necklace model for reptation. The solution gives the drift velocity, diffusion constant and renewal time for asymptotically long chains. Its properties are also related to a special case of the Rubinstein-Duke model in one dimension.
The two-dimensional cage model for polymer motion is discussed with an emphasis on the effect of sideways motions, which cross the barriers imposed by the lattice. Using the Density Matrix Method as a solver of the Master Equation, the renewal time and the diffusion coefficient are calculated as a function of the strength of the barrier crossings. A strong crossover influence of the barrier crossings is found and it is analyzed in terms of effective exponents for a given chain length. The crossover scaling functions and the crossover scaling exponents are calculated.
A simple one-dimensional model is constructed for polymer motion. It exhibits the crossover from reptation to Rouse dynamics through gradually allowing hernia creation and annihilation. The model is treated by the density matrix technique which permits an accurate finite-size-scaling analysis of the behavior of long polymers.