Pulling absorbing and collapsing polymers from a surface

Abstract

A self-interacting polymer with one end attached to a sticky surface has been studied by means of a flat-histogram stochastic growth algorithm known as FlatPERM. We examined the four-dimensional parameter space of the number of monomers (up to 91), self-attraction, surface-attraction and pulling force applied to one end of the polymer. Using this powerful algorithm the complete parameter space of interactions and pulling force has been considered. Recently it has been conjectured that a hierarchy of states appears at low-temperature/poor solvent conditions where a polymer exists in a finite number of layers close to a surface. We find re-entrant behaviour from the stretched phase into these ..