Hydrodynamic interaction and the dynamic intrinsic viscosity of a flexible polymer

We extend an earlier calculation by C. W. Pyun and M. Fixman [J. Chem. Phys. 44, 2107 (1966)], dealing with the effects of hydrodynamic interaction on the intrinsic viscosity of a flexible polymer in solution. We use their general formulation of the problem, but perform a more complete "infinite order" calculation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. For the steady state viscosity constant, we obtain a new value Φ=2.76, which lies between their result 2.66 and the value 2.856 which is found when the preaveraged hydrodynamic interaction is used. Further, we obtain the spectrum of relaxation times, and the frequency dependent intrinsic viscosity. The effects of preaveraging are more striking here; for example, our calculated lowest relaxation time is about twice as large as that found in the preaveraged approximation.