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Driven translocation of a flexible polymer through an interacting conical pore

We study the driven translocation of a flexible polymer through an interacting conical pore using Langevin dynamics simulations. We find that, for a fixed value of externally applied force and pore polymer interaction strength, the mean residence time of monomers inside the pore shows non-monotonic variations with pore apex angle $α$. We explain this behavior using a free energy argument by explicitly accounting for pore-polymer interactions and external drive. Our theoretical observations are corroborated by the simulation results of the mean translocation times as the pore-polymer interactions and external driving force are varied.