A Full-Chain Network Model with Sliplinks and Binary Constraint Release

A full-chain, mean-field, temporary network model is proposed. The model is inspired by the success of a recent reptation model, but contains no tubes. Instead, each chain uses a different (and smaller) set of dynamic variables: the position and age of each entanglement, and the number of Kuhn steps in chain strands between entanglements.

The entanglements are assumed to move affinely, whereas the number of Kuhn steps varies stochastically from tension imbalances and Brownian forces. In the language of reptation, the model exhibits chain-length fluctuations, constraint release, chain stretching, and tube dilation. It introduces no new adjustable parameters, and provides interesting connections to network models.

Without constraint release, some analytic results are possible. The simulation is faster than the previous model by more than an order of magnitude, and should be suitable for complex geometries.