Dynamics of a semiflexible filament under external force

We investigate the dynamics of a single semiflexible filament under the action of external forces. We show that unlike in stiff elastic rods in the thermally activated semiflexible filaments external forces applied at one extremity of the filament do not propagate to the other end till the filament is fully stretched. This asymmetric tension profile is shown to be the reason for qualitatively different behavior exhibited by semiflexible filaments under external tension. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.