Semiflexible Polymers near Interfaces

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Abstract
We present a theory of semiflexible polymers in inhomogeneous environments, which we use to analyze a symmetric interface between two immiscible, semiflexible polymers. Our theory reduces in the limit of small chain rigidity to the existing self-consistent-field theory of flexible polymers, but yields qualitatively different behavior in the limit of large rigidity, where we predict strong orientational order, weak interpenetration, and a universal behavior of the orientational profile and interfacial tension similar to that of a single component near an impenetrable wall.