Topology-Based Detection and Tracking of Deadlocks Reveal Aging of Active Ring Melts

Author(s)
Cristian Micheletti, Iurii Chubak, Enzo Orlandini, Jan Smrek
Abstract

Connecting the viscoelastic behavior of stressed ring melts to the various forms of entanglement that can emerge in such systems is still an open challenge. Here, we consider active ring melts, where stress is generated internally, and introduce a topology-based method to detect and track consequential forms of ring entanglements, namely, deadlocks. We demonstrate that, as stress accumulates, more and more rings are co-opted in a growing web of deadlocks that entrap many other rings by threading, bringing the system to a standstill. The method ought to help the study of topological aging in more general polymer contexts.

Organisation(s)
Computational and Soft Matter Physics
External organisation(s)
Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Sorbonne Université CNRS, University of Padova
Journal
ACS Macro Letters
Volume
13
Pages
124-129
No. of pages
6
ISSN
2161-1653
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.3c00567
Publication date
02-2024
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103023 Polymer physics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Organic Chemistry, Polymers and Plastics, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/39b77b54-7f72-4418-a078-076642d8e8c1