title: Effects of rotational symmetry breaking in polymer-coated nanopores.
abstract: The statistical theory of polymers tethered around the inner surface of a cylindrical channel has traditionally employed the assumption that the equilibrium density of the polymers is independent of the azimuthal coordinate. However, simulations have shown that this rotational symmetry can be broken when there are attractive interactions between the polymers. We investigate the phases that emerge in these circumstances, and we quantify the effect of the symmetry assumption on the phase behavior of the system. In the absence of this assumption, one can observe large differences in the equilibrium densities between the rotationally symmetric case and the non-rotationally symmetric case. A simple analytical model is developed that illustrates the driving thermodynamic forces responsible for this symmetry breaking. Our results have implications for the current understanding of the behavior of polymers in cylindrical nanopores.
authors.affiliation: London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Osmanović
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mathematics, Physics and Engineering in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kerr-Winter
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mathematics, Physics and Engineering in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Eccleston
authors.affiliation: London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Hoogenboom
authors.affiliation: London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Ford
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D058608:Nanopores; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012399:Rotation
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers