Macromolecules, Vol.37, No.2, 651-661, 2004
Swelling dynamics of collapsed polymers
We study different regimes in the dynamics of swelling of a long polymer chain from a compact globule. Depending on the age or degree of self-entanglement inside of the globule, we consider the limiting cases of "freshly formed" globule and "old" globule. Considering the density of polymer in a globule, which influences the mobility of solvent inside of the globule, we also distinguish "wet" and "dry" initial configurations. For each of these regimes, we discuss the leading dissipation mechanism governing the dynamics of swelling. Our theoretical predictions are nicely corroborated by large-scale molecular dynamics simulations.