Molecular elasticity and the geometric phase.
We present a method for solving the wormlike-chain (WLC) model for twisting semiflexible polymers to any desired accuracy. We show that the WLC free energy is a periodic function of the applied twist with period 4pi. We develop an analogy between WLC elasticity and the geometric phase of a spin-1 / 2 system. These analogies are used to predict elastic properties of twist-storing polymers. We graphically display the elastic response of a single molecule to an applied torque. This study is relevant to mechanical properties of biopolymers such as DNA.
Samuel
Joseph
J
Raman Research Institute, Bangalore 560080, India.
Sinha
Supurna
S
D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D004548:Elasticity; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
D001704:Biopolymers; D004247:DNA