title: Thermal breakage of a semiflexible polymer: breakage profile and rate.
abstract: Understanding fluctuation-induced breakages in polymers has important implications for basic and applied sciences. Here I present for the first time an analytical treatment of the thermal breakage problem of a semi-flexible polymer model that is asymptotically exact in the low temperature and high friction limits. Specifically, I provide analytical expressions for the breakage propensity and rate, and discuss the generalities of the results and their relevance to biopolymers. This work is fundamental to our understanding of the kinetics of living polymerisation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Chiu Fan
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D017276:Friction; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers