Bundle formation in parallel aligned polymers with competing interactions

Abstract

Aggregation of like-charged polymers is widely observed in biological- and soft-matter systems. In many systems, bundles are formed when a short-range attraction of diverse physical origin like charge bridging, hydrogen bonding or hydrophobic interaction, overcomes the longer-range charge repulsion. In this letter, we present a general mechanism of bundle formation in these systems as the breaking of the translational invariance in parallel aligned polymers with competing interactions of this type. We derive a criterion for finite-sized bundle formation as well as for macroscopic phase separation