biostudies-literatureUnknown15(9)Phillies GDJThe Rouse model is the foundational basis of much of modern polymer physics. The period alternative, the Kirkwood-Riseman model, is rarely mentioned in modern monographs. The models are qualitatively different. The models do not agree as to how many internal modes a polymer molecule has. In the Kirkwood-Riseman model, polymers in a shear field perform whole-body rotation; in the Rouse model, polymers respond to shear with an affine deformation. We use Brownian dynamics to show that the Kirkwood-Riseman model for chain motion is qualitatively correct. Contrary to the Rouse model, in shear flow, polymer coils rotate. Rouse modes are cross-correlated. The amplitudes and relaxation rates of Rouse modes depend on the shear rate. Several alternatives to Rouse modes as collective coordinates are Polymers1995https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10180932biostudies-literatureThe Kirkwood-Riseman Model of Polymer Solution Dynamics Is Qualitatively Correct.PMC10180932Phillies GDJfalseThe Kirkwood-Riseman Model of Polymer Solution Dynamics Is Qualitatively Correct.The Rouse model is the foundational basis of much of modern polymer physics. The period alternative, the Kirkwood-Riseman model, is rarely mentioned in modern monographs. The models are qualitatively different. The models do not agree as to how many internal modes a polymer molecule has. In the Kirkwood-Riseman model, polymers in a shear field perform whole-body rotation; in the Rouse model, polymers respond to shear with an affine deformation. We use Brownian dynamics to show that the Kirkwood-Riseman model for chain motion is qualitatively correct. Contrary to the Rouse model, in shear flow, polymer coils rotate. Rouse modes are cross-correlated. The amplitudes and relaxation rates of Rouse modes depend on the shear rate. Several alternatives to Rouse modes as collective coordinates are 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z2023 Apr2025-04-21T22:40:03.165Z2025-04-05T18:51:46.236ZS-EPMC101809323717714310.3390/polym15091995