Cis-trans dynamical asymmetry in driven polymer translocation

During polymer translocation driven by, e.g., voltage drop across a nanopore, the segments in the cis side are incessantly pulled into the pore, which are then pushed out of it into the trans side. This pulling and pushing of polymer segments are described in the continuum level by nonlinear transport processes known, respectively, as fast and slow diffusions. By matching solutions of both sides through the mass conservation across the pore, we provide a physical basis for the cis and trans dynamical asymmetry, a feature repeatedly reported in recent numerical simulations. We then predict how the total driving force is dynamically allocated between cis (pulling) and trans (pushing) sides, demonstrating that the trans-side event adds a weak finite-chain length effect to the dynamical scaling.