title: Distribution functions for filaments under tension.
abstract: We develop a biased Monte Carlo simulation technique to measure the distribution functions of the extension and the end-to-end distance of fluctuating filaments stretched by external force. The method is applicable for arbitrary ratio of the persistence length to the contour length and for arbitrary forces, and also for the case of steric constraints, such as an external wall. The fundamental idea underlying the algorithm is to account explicitly for the length-scale dependence of the effective elastic moduli. We find that orientational fluctuations and wall effects produce non-Gaussian distributions for nearly rigid filaments in the small to intermediate force regime. The simulation results are tested against analytic expressions for the force-extension curves, both in the semiflexible and nearly stiff limits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.forename: Yitzhak
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rabin