Simulation of a semiflexible polymer in a narrow cylindrical pore

The probability that a randomly accelerated particle in two dimensions has not yet left a simply connected domain A after a time t decays as e−E0t for long times. The same quantity E0 also determines the confinement free energy per unit length ∆f = kBT E0 of a semiflexible polymer in a narrow cylindrical pore with cross section A. From simulations of a randomly accelerated particle we estimate the universal amplitude of ∆f for both circular and rectangular cross sections. PACS 36.20.Ey, 05.10.-a, 05.10.Gg, 05.70.Ce Submitted to J.Phys. A 1 Consider a long semiflexible polymer with persistence length P fluctuating in a cylindrical pore with diameter D. In the narrow-pore limit D << P the free energy of confinement per unit length ∆f is given by ∆f = A○ kBT