Nonequilibrium Work Relations for Dilute Polymer Solutions

In this work, we present a general framework based on the Jarzynski equality to study polymer solutions.  This framework allows for the determination of equilibrium and nonequilibrium free energy landscapes of dilute polymer solutions in flow. The rheology of polymer solutions strongly depends on their equilibrium and nonequilibrium steady state properties.  Using Brownian dynamics simulation in conjunction with experimental analyses, we apply our framework to individual polymer stretching trajectories in general flows. In addition, we show that equilibrium properties such as polymer relaxation time and chain elasticity can be determined from a wide array of fundamental steady-state properties. Overall, connecting equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties of dilute polymer solutions provides a new platform to study the dynamics of flowing soft matter systems.