title: Packing of elastic wires in spherical cavities.
abstract: We investigate the morphologies and maximum packing density of thin wires packed into spherical cavities. Using simulations and experiments, we find that ordered as well as disordered structures emerge, depending on the amount of internal torsion. We find that the highest packing densities are achieved in low torsion packings for large systems, but in high torsion packings for small systems. An analysis of both situations is given in terms of energetics and comparison is made to analytical models of DNA packing in viral capsids.
authors.affiliation: Computational Physics for Engineering Materials, ETH Zurich, Schafmattstrasse 6, HIF, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stoop
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Najafi
authors.forename: F K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Wittel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Habibi
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Herrmann
mesh_terms: D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D004548:Elasticity; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012399:Rotation
chemical_list: D004247:DNA