Conserved Linking in Single- and Double-Stranded Polymers
Abstract
We demonstrate a variant of the Bond Fluctuation lattice Monte Carlo model in which moves through cis conformations are forbidden. Ring polymers in this model have a conserved quantity that amounts to a topological linking number. Increased linking number reduces the radius of gyration mildly. A linking number of order 0.2 per bond leads to an eight-percent reduction of the radius for 128-bond chains. This percentage appears to rise with increasing chain length, contrary to expectation. For ring chains evolving without the conservation of linking number, we demonstrate a substantial anti-correlation between the twist and writhe variables whose sum yields the linking number. We raise the possibility that our observed anti-correlations may have counterparts in the most important practical polymer that conserves linking number, DNA.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/9909367,
title = {Conserved Linking in Single- and Double-Stranded Polymers},
author = {Joseph S. Plewa and Thomas A. Witten},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/9909367},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Revised title, minor changes, updated references. 36 pages, including 14 figures. More formats available at http://rainbow.uchicago.edu/~plewa/webpaper/