Dynamic Fluctuations of Semiflexible Filaments

Abstract

We study both the longitudinal and transverse fluctuations of a semiflexible filament. Using scaling arguments and numerical simulations, we find several regimes for the longitudinal fluctuations which, for short times, scale as $〈\ensuremath{\delta}{r}_{\ensuremath{\Vert}}^{2}〉\ensuremath{\sim}{t}^{7/8}$ and are correlated over a length ${l}_{2}\ensuremath{\sim}{t}^{1/8}$. Our results are pertinent to experiments on cross-linked filament systems and motor-filament assays. The techniques we develop for the analysis of dynamic correlations should have wide applications in the study of polymer systems.