PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv
Strain Waves Generate Compression and Trigger Buckling in Active Polymers
Abstract
Chemical reactions can sustain polymer motion without necessarily generating the compression required for buckling. Theory and simulations show that tension-dependent chemical transitions coupled to bond elasticity generate finite-wavelength traveling strain waves in a semiflexible polymer. In the straight chain at fixed axial span, the waves reduce mean active contraction while leaving mean elastic tension unchanged, generating compression that drives bending above a threshold. Releasing the mean load allows longitudinal waves to persist while transverse perturbations decay.
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BibTeX
@misc{tian2026strain,
title = {{Strain Waves Generate Compression and Trigger Buckling in Active Polymers}},
author = {Wen-de Tian and Kang Chen and Tianhui Zhang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.30749},
eprint = {2610.30749},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30749},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Strain Waves Generate Compression and Trigger Buckling in Active Polymers
AU - Wen-de Tian
AU - Kang Chen
AU - Tianhui Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.30749
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30749
AB - Chemical reactions can sustain polymer motion without necessarily generating the compression required for buckling. Theory and simulations show that tension-dependent chemical transitions coupled to bond elasticity generate finite-wavelength traveling strain waves in a semiflexible polymer. In the straight chain at fixed axial span, the waves reduce mean active contraction while leaving mean elastic tension unchanged, generating compression that drives bending above a threshold. Releasing the mean load allows longitudinal waves to persist while transverse perturbations decay.
ER -