We address the problem of the fluctuating dynamics of an isolated inextensible and semiflexible filament of length $L$. By focusing explicitly on two key properties of the filaments—their connectivity and inextensibility—we obtain insights into their dynamics. We calculate the dynamics, and we calculate the correlation functions for chains of finite length taking into account the boundary conditions at the chain ends. We obtain closed-form expressions that separate the internal bending modes from the global rotation modes.

• Received 13 May 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.72.021805