Gaussian approximation for Hookean dumbbells with hydrodynamic interaction: Translational diffusivity

The recently developed Gaussian approximation for the hydrodynamic interaction is used to discuss the translational diffusivity of polymers in dilute solutions undergoing homogeneous flows. For the Hookean dumbbell model, we derive the diffusion tensors associated with (i) the average polymer velocity caused by external forces; (ii) the mean-square displacement of a single polymer caused by the Brownian forces; and (iii) the polymer mass flux caused by concentration gradients. We discuss the model predictions for these diffusion tensors for steady shear flow in detail.This paper was presented at the Frühjahrstagung des Fachausschusses Polymerphysik der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft in Hamburg (West Germany), March 14–16,1988.