Hysteresis loop area scaling exponents in DNA unzipping by a periodic force: A Langevin dynamics simulation study

R Kapri, PHYSICAL REVIEW E, 104, 024401 (2021).

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.104.024401

Using Langevin dynamics simulations, we study the hysteresis in unzipping of longer double-stranded DNA chains whose ends are subjected to a time-dependent periodic force with frequency omega and amplitude G keeping the other end fixed. We find that the area of the hysteresis loop, Aloop, scales as 1/omega at higher frequencies, whereas it scales as (G - Gc)alpha omega beta with exponents alpha = 1 and beta = 1.25 in the low-frequency regime. These values are same as the exponents obtained in Monte Carlo simulation studies of a directed self-avoiding walk model of a homopolymer DNA R. Kapri, Phys. Rev. E 90, 062719 (2014), and the block copolymer DNA R. K. Yadav and R. Kapri, Phys. Rev. E 103, 012413 (2021) on a square lattice, and differs from the values reported earlier using Langevin dynamics simulation studies on a much shorter DNA hairpins.

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