Conformations and interactions of star-branched polyelectrolytes.

Combining monomer-resolved molecular dynamics simulations with a theory based on a variational free energy, we calculate the conformational properties and the effective interactions of star-branched polyelectrolytes for a large variety of arm numbers, degrees of polymerization, and charge fractions, with and without added salt. We find quantitative agreement between theory and simulation and put forward analytical expressions that allow the calculation of the interaction between such macromolecules.