{
  "abstract": "Spatially patterned tangential activity provides a route to program polymer topology through both geometry and propulsion direction. We use Langevin-dynamics simulations of a flexible, self-avoiding linear polymer to determine how active-domain placement and independently assigned propulsion polarities control nonequilibrium knotting. Reversing the polarities of two terminal active blocks switches the steady state from a nearly always-knotted regime to effective knot suppression, changing the knotting probability by more than three orders of magnitude despite identical active-block positions and activity magnitude. Across symmetric terminal two-block architectures, we further identify an approximate zero-one-two free-end-alignment rule: zero, one, and two free-end-aligned active blocks correspond, respectively, to suppressed, intermediate, and high-knotting states. A two-state kinetic decomposition shows that the conditional knot-formation rate changes only by about threefold under polarity reversal, whereas the mean knot lifetime changes by several orders of magnitude, demonstrating that knot survival and passive-region storage dominate the polarity-controlled switch. Block placement provides an additional geometrical gate: moving an active domain from the chain interior to a terminal region strongly enhances both knot formation and survival. Knot-center residence, knotted-arc distributions, and episode-resolved kymographs reveal formation near free-end-aligned active blocks, directed contour migration, tightening, and long-lived retention in passive regions. Together, these results support a source-conveyor-reservoir-sink mechanism in which signed polarity and spatial activity patterning control whether knots are generated, transported, stored, or rapidly lost, providing a route to programmable topological states in nonequilibrium active polymers.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2611.03474",
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Shiqi Zhou"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ebbxcv3axgtvk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2611.03474",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "ebbxcv3axgtvk",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.03474",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.stat-mech"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2611.03474",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-02",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ebbxcv3axgtvk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T12:21:04Z",
      "native_id": "2611.03474",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.03474"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.soft",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.stat-mech",
      "subfield": "statistical-nonlinear"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Polarity-Programmed Topological Gating of Knotting in Spatially Patterned Active Polymers",
  "title_text": "Polarity-Programmed Topological Gating of Knotting in Spatially Patterned Active Polymers",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T15:20:21Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ebbxcv3axgtvk",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}