Dynamics of folding in Semiflexible filaments

Abstract

We investigate the dynamics of a single semiflexible filament, under the action of a compressing force, using numerical simulations and scaling arguments. The force is applied along the end to end vector at one extremity of the filament, while the other end is held fixed. We find that, unlike in elastic rods the filament folds asymmetrically with a folding length which depends only on the bending stiffness and the applied force. It is shown that this behavior can be attributed to the exponentially falling tension profile in the filament. While the folding time depends on the initial configuration, at late time, the distance moved by the terminal point of the filament and the length of the fold shows a power law dependence on time with an exponent 1/2.