SciPost Submission Page
Characteristic features of an active polar filament pushing a load
by Prabhakar Maurya, Shalabh Kumar Anand, and Sunil Pratap Singh
This Submission thread is now published as
Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Shalabh K Anand · Sunil Pratap Singh |
| Submission information | |
|---|---|
| Preprint Link: | scipost_202410_00008v4 (pdf) |
| Code repository: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14836853 |
| Data repository: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14836853 |
| Date accepted: | May 26, 2025 |
| Date submitted: | April 28, 2025, 11:08 a.m. |
| Submitted by: | Anand, Shalabh K |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics |
| Ontological classification | |
|---|---|
| Academic field: | Physics |
| Specialties: |
|
| Approaches: | Theoretical, Computational |
Abstract
We present the structural and dynamical behavior of an active polar filament that is pushing a load using overdamped Langevin dynamics simulations. By varying the bending rigidity and the connectivity between the filament and the load, we smoothly transition the boundary condition of the filament from pivoted to clamped. In the clamped state, the load remains strongly aligned with the filament, whereas in the pivoted state, the load is free to rotate at its attachment point. Under the pivoted boundary condition, the active polar filament buckles and exhibits various fascinating dynamical phases, including snake-like motion, rotational motion, and helical conformations. However, under the clamped boundary condition, the helical phase disappears, and the filament attains either an extended or a bent conformation. The transition from the extended state to the helical phase is characterized using a global helical order parameter in the parameter space of active force and a physical quantity associated with the boundary condition. We have obtained various power laws relating the curvature radius of the helical phase, effective diffusivity, and rotational motion of the monomers to the active force. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the filament’s effective diffusivity in the helical phase exhibits a non-monotonic dependence on the active force: it initially increases linearly but decreases sharply at high active force strengths.
Author indications on fulfilling journal expectations
- Provide a novel and synergetic link between different research areas.
- Open a new pathway in an existing or a new research direction, with clear potential for multi-pronged follow-up work
- Detail a groundbreaking theoretical/experimental/computational discovery
- Present a breakthrough on a previously-identified and long-standing research stumbling block
Author comments upon resubmission
Thank you for providing the report on our article. We appreciate the comments and suggestions on our manuscript. We have carefully incorporated all the suggested revisions. All major corrections and responses are highlighted in blue for clarity.
We hope that the revised manuscript meets the standards for publication in SciPost Physics and look forward to your feedback.
Sincerely yours,
Prabhakar Maurya, Shalabh K Anand, and Sunil P. Singh
List of changes
- In the fourth paragraph of the introduction, we have added a few sentences signifying the motivation behind our work.
- We have included one more snapshot in figure 2 (Fig. 2b).
- We have added a couple of sentences in the second paragraph of section 3.2. These sentences are about our observation on difference between a 2D filament pushing a load with respect to our 3D results.
- We have included some text comparing our 3D results with respect to the existing results on a 2D filament. The texts are in the fourth paragraph of the section named "Summary and Conclusion".
- We have updated the shared files. Now, we have included data files for one of the parameters ($\rho=0), as well as analysis codes. We have made a readme file which explains all the shared files and how to reproduce the results presented in the manuscript.
Published as SciPost Phys. 18, 189 (2025)