POLYMER IN GRAVITATIONAL-FIELD

We consider a flexible polymer chain and determine its elongation in a homogeneous gravitational field using different methods: scaling argu ments, blob picture and Monte Carlo simulations. For light chains the elongation is found to obey Hooke's law, while for heavy chains their length is approximately independent of their weight. In the cross-over regime of non-linear elasticity the elongation has a power-law depend ence on external parameters.