title: Unwinding relaxation dynamics of polymers.
abstract: The relaxation dynamics of a polymer wound around a fixed obstacle constitutes a fundamental instance of polymer with twist and torque, and it is also of relevance for DNA denaturation dynamics. We investigate it by simulations and Langevin equation analysis. The latter predicts a relaxation time scaling as a power of the polymer length times a logarithmic correction related to the equilibrium fluctuations of the winding angle. The numerical data support this result and show that at short times the winding angle decreases as a power law. This is also in agreement with the Langevin equation provided a winding-dependent friction is used, suggesting that such reduced description of the system captures the basic features of the problem.
authors: Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, P. O. Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors: J-C
authors: JC
authors: Walter
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Baiesi
authors: G T
authors: GT
authors: Barkema
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Carlon