Dynamic shear modulus of a semiflexible polymer network

Abstract

We construct a model for the dynamic shear modulus $G(\ensuremath{\omega})$ of entangled or crosslinked networks of semiflexible polymer that can account for the high-frequency scaling behavior, $G(\ensuremath{\omega})\ensuremath{\sim}{\ensuremath{\omega}}^{3/4},$ that has recently been observed in solutions of the biopolymer $F$-actin. As we argue, this behavior should not be unique to F-actin, but rather should be a clear characteristic of semiflexible polymers in general. We also report molecular dynamics simulations that support the single filament response that is the basis of our model for the network shear modulus.