Date of Award
1-1-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Physics
Department
Physics and Astronomy
First Advisor
Kevin Beach
Second Advisor
Luca Bombelli
Third Advisor
Joel Mobley
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
The biopolymer unfolding process can be conceptualized as the thermally activated crossing of a barrier in some energy landscape; the real-world unfolding dynamics are in correspondence with the rate of transit over the barrier. In this dissertation, we report on four projects that exploit this analogy to advance our understanding of so-called pulling experiments, in which a biopolymer chain is encouraged to unfold by direct application of forces to its two ends. Regardless of the specific experimental realization, standard pulling techniques give rise to a biased barrier crossing problem. The applied force has the effect of tilting the energy landscape. The height and shape of the barrier are altered by the tilt, and the rate of transit over the barrier is highly sensitive to such changes.
Recommended Citation
Adhikari, Sudeep, "Biopolymer Unfolding as a Process of Biased Activated Barrier Crossing" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2188.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2188