title: Pressing soft membrane on a self-avoiding polymer against a flat wall.
abstract: A polymer-membrane interacting system can produce a variety of structures. Here, we theoretically study a model system in which a membrane pushes a polymer against a hard surface; we show that a first-order structural phase transition can occur. Using a Monte Carlo simulation, we reveal that the system undergoes a transition from a confined (bump) state to a strongly confined (flattened-out) state as the pressure increases. A scaling argument is also made to understand the physical mechanism behind the phase transition and the properties of each state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1.
authors.forename: Yu-Cheng
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Jeff Z Y
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000502:physiology; D008560:Membrane Fluidity / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011312:Pressure; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers