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Authors
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Chervanyov, A. ; Heinrich, G.
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Title
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Polymers in an external periodic fields: the effect of the excluded volume interactions
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Date
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16.08.2007
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Number
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14793
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Abstract
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By developing and making use of the transfer operator formalism, we calculate the number density and average Flory end-to-end distance of the polymers placed in an external periodic field. The considered mathematical problem is of immediate relevance for such realistic physical systems as the homopolymers immersed in the host structure of alternating layers that have different affinities for homopolymers (e.g., lamellar microphases of copolymers, ripple morphology of the mixed brush, and lipid/water systems). In contrast to the conventional ground state dominance approximation, the developed method makes it possible to calculate the characteristic size (Flory radius RF) of the polymers in the direction of applied external periodic field, with the effect of the excluded volume taken into account. The excluded volume interactions are shown to qualitatively change the behavior of RF as a function of the reduced field strength theta relative to the case of ideal Gaussian polymers. In particular, in the limit of strong fields theta>>1 the average Flory radius RF is found to saturate to its minimal value, which is calculated as a function of the excluded volume parameter u. This finding is in distinct contrast to the result for the Flory radius RF in the case of ideal polymers where RF approaches zero as the interaction parameter theta increases. ©2007 American Institute of Physics
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Publisher
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Journal of Chemical Physics
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Wikidata
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Citation
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Journal of Chemical Physics 127 (2007) 014902
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DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2747597
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Tags
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