Critical exponents for numbers of differently anchored polymer chains on fractal lattices with adsorbing boundaries

We study the problem of polymer adsorption in a good solvent when the container of the polymer-solvent system is taken to be a member of the Sierpinski gasket (SG) family of fractals. Members of the SG family are enumerated by an integerb (2b), and it is assumed that one side of each SG fractal is an impenetrable adsorbing boundary. We calculate the critical exponents ₁, ₁₁, and _s , which, within the self-avoiding walk model (SAW) of the polymer chain, are associated with the numbers of all possible SAWs with one, both, and no ends anchored to the adsorbing impenetrable boundary, respectively. By applying the exact renormalization group (RG) method for 2b8 and the Monte Carlo renormalization group (MCRG) method for a sequence of fractals with 2b80, we obtain specific values for these exponents. The obtained results show that all three critical exponents ₁, ₁₁, and _s , in both the bulk phase and crossover region are monotonically increasing functions withb. We discuss their mutual relations, their relations with other critical exponents pertinent to SAWs on the SG fractals, and their possible asymptotic behavior in the limitb, when the fractal dimension of the SG fractals approaches the Euclidean value 2.     

Adsorption of Ideal Polymers on an Infinitely Ramified Fractal

We study ideal polymer chains interacting attractively with the borders of the lacunas of an infinitely ramified fractal, the Sierpinski carpet. Ideal chains are simulated on finite stages of construction of this fractal at various temperatures. The mean-square displacement and the mean number of adsorbed monomers of N-step chains are estimated in these lattices, and extrapolations to the fractal limit (infinite lattice) consider the exact forms of finite-size corrections as previously predicted by the series expansion method. In the noninteracting case, a finite fraction of the monomers is adsorbed, and this fraction increases as the temperature decreases. However, there is evidence that the critical exponent v which governs the growth of the chains varies with the temperature in a nonmonotonic way. At high temperatures v increases with decreasing temperature, and thus the chains are more stretched than in the noninteracting case. At an intermediate temperature, v starts to decrease and is still positive at very low temperatures, when the chains grow along the borders of several lacunas, occasionally crossing the bulk between them.     

Operator product expansion on a fractal: The short chain expansion for polymer networks

We prove to all orders of renormalized perturbative polymer field theory the existence of a short chain expansion applying to polymer solutions of long and short chains. For a general polymer network with long and short chains we show factorization of its partition sum by a short chain factor and a long chain factor in the short chain limit. This corresponds to an expansion for short distance along the fractal perimeter of the polymer chains connecting the network vertices and is related to a large mass expansion of field theory.

The scaling of the second virial coefficient for bimodal solutions is explained. Our method also applies to the correlations of the multifractal measure of harmonic diffusion onto an absorbing polymer. We give a result for expanding these correlations for short distance along the fractal carrier of the measure.     

Time-dependent correlations of a self-avoiding polymer chain

Time-dependent correlation functions of single-polymer-chain conformations are calculated renormalization-group theoretically. The universal functional forms to O(?), (? ≡ 4?d, d being the spatial dimensionality), but uniformly reliable in time, are given.     

Scaling properties of diffusion-limited reactions on fractal and euclidean geometries

We review our scaling results for the diffusion-limited reactions A + A 0 and A+B0 on Euclidean and fractal geometries. These scaling results embody the anomalies that are observed in these reactions in low dimensions; we collect these observations under a single phenomenological umbrella. Although we are not able to fix all the exponents in our scaling expressions from first principles, we establish bounds that bracket the observed numerical results.     

Restoration of universality for the rod-to-coil transition scaling in the infinite-dimensionality limit: Exact results for directed walks

We derive scaling forms for the thermodynamic and correlation quantities for the turn-weighted fully and partially directed self-avoiding walks on the hypercubic lattices ind2. In the grand canonical (fixed fugacity per step) ensemble, the conformational rod-to-coil transition sets up in the regimew¯N=O(1), wherew is the weight of each 90° turn and¯N is the (fugacity-dependent) average number of steps. Contrary to the conventional critical phenomena wisdom, the scaling functions for the two different walk models, directed and partially directed, become universal only in the limitd.     

Different self-avoiding walks on percolation clusters: A small-cell real-space renormalization-group study

We calculate the average number of stepsN for edge-to-edge, normal, and indefinitely growing self-avoiding walks (SAWs) on two-dimensional critical percolation clusters, using the real-space renormalization-group approach, with small H cells. Our results are of the formN=AL ^D _SAW+B, whereL is the end-to-end distance. Similarly to several deterministic fractals, the fractal dimensionsD _SAW for these three different kinds of SAWs are found to be equal, and the differences between them appear in the amplitudesA and in the correction termsB. This behavior is atributed to the hierarchical nature of the critical percolation cluster.     

Critical behavior of self-avoiding walks on fractals

Using a new graph counting technique suitable for self-similar fractals, exact 18th-order series expansions for SAWs on some Sierpinski carpets are generated. From them, the critical fugacityx _c and critical exponents _SAW and _SAW are obtained. The results show a linear dependence of the critical fugacity with the average number of bonds per site of the lattices studied. We find for some carpets with low lacunarity that _SAW<0.75, thus violating the relation _SAW(fractal) > _SAW (d) for SAWs on the fractals which are embedded in ad-dimensional Euclidean space.     

Exact results for the adsorption of a semiflexible copolymer chain in three dimensions

Lattice model of directed self-avoiding walk has been solved analytically to investigate adsorption–desorption phase transition behaviour of a semiflexible sequential copolymer chain on a two-dimensional impenetrable surface perpendicular to the preferred direction of the walk of the copolymer chain in three dimensions. The stiffness of the chain has been accounted by introducing an energy barrier for each bend in the walk of the copolymer chain. Exact value of adsorption–desorption transition points have been determined using the generating function method for the cases in which one type of monomer is having interaction with the surface, namely (i) no interaction (ii) attractive interaction and (iii) repulsive interaction. Results obtained in each of the case show that for stiffer copolymer chain adsorption transition occurs at a smaller value of monomer surface attraction than a flexible copolymer chain. These features are similar to that of a semiflexible homopolymer chain adsorption.     

Different types of self-avoiding walks on deterministic fractals

Normal and indefinitely-growing (IG) self-avoiding walks (SAWs) are exactly enumerated on several deterministic fractals (the Manderbrot-Given curve with and without dangling bonds, and the 3-simplex). On then th fractal generation, of linear sizeL, the average number of steps behaves asymptotically as N=AL ^D _saw+B. In contrast to SAWs on regular lattices, on these factals IGSAWs and normal SAWs have the same fractal dimensionD _saw. However, they have different amplitudes (A) and correction terms (B).     

Theory of self-avoiding walks on percolation fractals

A phenomenological approach which takes into account the basic geometry and topology of percolation fractal structures and of self-avoiding walks (SAW) is used to derive a new expression for the Flory exponent describing the average radius of gyration of SAWs on fractals. We focus on the radius of gyration and discuss the importance of the intrinsic fractal dimensions of percolation clusters in determining the lower and upper critical dimensions of SAWs. The mean-field version of our new formula corresponds to the Aharony and Harris expression, who used the standard Flory approach for its derivation.On leave from Santipur College, Nadia 741404, India.     

Directed polymers in a random environment: Some results on fluctuations

We consider a polymer model on ℤ ₊ ^d where to each edgee is associated a random variable v(e). A polymer configuration is represented by a directed pathr and has a weight exp[-β ∑ _e ∈r ν(e)], withβ=1/T the inverse temperature. We extend some rigorous results that have been obtained for the ground state of this model to finite temperatures. In particular we obtain some upper and lower bounds on sample-to-sample free energy fluctuations, and also rigorous scaling inequalities between the exponents describing free energy fluctuations and transversal displacements of polymer configurations     

Adsorption of a spherical nanoparticle in polymer brushes: Brownian dynamics investigation

We use Brownian dynamics simulations to study the adsorption behavior of a nanosized particle in polymer brushes. The adsorption process, the dynamic behavior of the nanoparticle in the brush, the penetration depth, the diffusion coefficient of the nanoparticle in different depths of the brush, and the forces exerted on the nanoparticle by the surrounding brush are all investigated for different grafting densities.     

Exact and Monte Carlo computations on a lattice model for change of conformation of a polymer

Conformational changes of linear polymers are studied by means of dynamic lattice models. The relaxation rates for the following four parameters describing the conformation of the polymer are studied for various polymer lengths: the square of the end-to-end distance, the square of the radius of gyration, thex component of the end-to-end vector, and the number of windings.In the most realistic models the relaxation rates for the first three of the above-mentioned properties decrease approximately proportional to the square of the number of monomers in agreement with the well-known Rouse model, while the relaxation of the winding number appears to be independent of the polymer length. The long-range interactions due to excluded volume restrictions are found to be of only minor importance compared to the rules presented for the local movements of the polymer segments.The results are obtained by diagonalizing the Markov matrix forn = 3, 4, 5, and 6 and by Monte Carlo simulation forn = 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128, wheren is the number of monomers.     

Singularity spectrum of fractal signals from wavelet analysis: Exact results

The multifractal formalism for singular measures is revisited using the wavelet transform. For Bernoulli invariant measures of some expanding Markov maps, the generalized fractal dimensions are proved to be transition points for the scaling exponents of some partition functions defined from the wavelet transform modulus maxima. The generalization of this formalism to fractal signals is established for the class of distribution functions of these singular invariant measures. It is demonstrated that the Hausdorff dimensionD(h) of the set of singularities of Hölder exponenth can be directly determined from the wavelet transform modulus maxima. The singularity spectrum so obtained is shown to be not disturbed by the presence, in the signal, of a superimposed polynomial behavior of ordern, provided one uses an analyzing wavelet that possesses at leastN>n vanishing moments. However, it is shown that aC behavior generally induces a phase transition in theD(h) singularity spectrum that somewhat masks the weakest singularities. This phase transition actually depends on the numberN of vanishing moments of the analyzing wavelet; its observation is emphasized as a reliable experimental test for the existence of nonsingular behavior in the considered signal. These theoretical results are illustrated with numerical examples. They are likely to be valid for a large class of fractal functions as suggested by recent applications to fractional Brownian motions and turbulent velocity signals.     

The average path length for a class of scale-free fractal hierarchical lattices: Rigorous results

With the help of the recurrence relations derived from the self-similar structure, we obtain the closed-form solution for the average path length of a class of scale-free fractal hierarchical lattices (HLs) with a general parameter q, which are simultaneously scale-free, self-similar and disassortative. Our rigorous solution shows that the average path length of the HLs grows logarithmically as in the infinite limit of network size of N_t and that they are not small worlds but grow with a power-law relationship to the number of nodes.