Plectoneme creation reduces the rotational friction of a polymer
Abstract
The torsional dynamics of a semiflexible polymer with a contour length L larger than its persistence length Lp that is rotated at fixed frequency omega0 at one end is studied by scaling arguments and hydrodynamic simulations. We find a non-equilibrium transition at a critical frequency omega*: In the linear regime, omega0 < omega*, axial spinning is the dominant dissipation mode. In the non-linear regime, omega0 > omega*, the twist-dissipation mode involves the continuous creation of plectonemes close to the driven end and the rotational friction is substantially reduced.
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