| Contents |
| This work deals with the analysis of a nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation modeling the mechanical unzipping of double-stranded DNA under the influence of an applied force. The dependent variable is the probability density of unzipping $m$ base pairs. The non-linear Fokker-Planck equation we propose here is obtained when we couple a model proposed by Lubensky and Nelson in PRE (2000), with a transcendental equation for the applied force. The resulting model incorporates non-linear effects in a different way than the usual models in kinetic theory. We treat the well-posedness of this model. For that we require a combination of techniques coming from second order kinetic equations and compensated compactness arguments in conservation laws. |
|