Rheology of polymer melts and concentrated solutions

The basic concepts of entangled polymer dynamics, like that of 'tube' of constraints and of 'reptation', have not yet exhausted their momentum. Further progress has taken place recently with detailed calculations of tube length fluctuations and constraint release, not only for branched polymers but also for linear ones. Progress in the non-linear range has occurred with the concept of convective constraint release and, for branched polymers, with the so-called 'pom-pom' model. Lack of complete agreement between theory and experiments stimulates work to proceed along various lines. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.