Statistical mechanics of polymers subject to a force

• Published in: Journal of physics. A, Mathematical and theoretical Vol. 49; no. 34; pp. 343001 - 343047
• Main Authors: Orlandini, E, Whittington, S G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 26.08.2016
• Subjects: lattice models; polymer statistical mechanics; polymers with a force
• ISSN: 1751-8113; 1751-8121
• DOI: 10.1088/1751-8113/49/34/343001

When a polymer molecule is subjected to a force (such as a tensile force) it responds and this response gives information about the thermodynamics and structural properties of the polymer. In recent years there have been a number of experimental developments, such as atomic force microscopy and optical tweezers, that allow individual polymer molecules to be pulled in various ways. This has resulted in a renewed theoretical interest in how polymers respond to applied forces. This review will focus on some particular aspects of this field. We shall be primarily interested in tensile forces and consider various scenarios, such as pulling an adsorbed polymer from a surface and pulling a polymer from one phase to another. In order to make theoretical progress one needs a model of the polymer and we shall focus on lattice models. Our emphasis will be on exactly solvable models such as Dyck and Motzkin paths, and on rigorous results for self-avoiding walk models and some relatives, though we shall also discuss scaling theories and some selected numerical results.