The Mesostructure of Polymer Collapse and Fractal Smoothing

We investigate the internal structure of a polymer during collapse from an expanded coil to a compact globule. Collapse is more probable in local regions of high curvature, so a smoothing of the fractal polymer structure occurs that proceeds systematically from the shortest to the longest length scales. A proposed universal scaling relationship is tested by comparison with Monte Carlo simulations. We speculate that the universal form applies to various fractal systems with local processes that promote smoothness over time. The results complement earlier work showing that on the macroscale polymer collapse proceeds by driven diffusion of the polymer ends.