Dynamics of an active chiral polymer in shear flow

Abstract

We explore the complex formation of an active flexible polymer chain in linear shear flow by using monomer-resolved Brownian dynamics simulations in two spatial dimensions. The chiral head monomer is active and circling, while all other monomers are passive, following both the motion of the head polymer and the shear flow. By the combination of activity, chirality, and shear rate, a wealth of different states are found, including the formation of a linear/complex folding and a spiraling state with both head-in and head-out morphologies. As the vorticity of the applied shear competes with the circling sense of the head, the chirality of the whole complex can be tuned by activity. Our results are relevant to characterize the response of living and artificial chiral active polymer chains to complex flow fields.