In this work we investigate structural properties of native states of a simple model for short flexible homopolymers, where the steric influence of monomeric side chains is effectively introduced by a thickness constraint. This geometric constraint is implemented through the concept of the global radius of curvature and affects the conformational topology of ground-state structures. A systematic analysis allows for a thickness-dependent classification of the dominant ground-state topologies. It turns out that helical structures, strands, rings, and coils are natural, intrinsic geometries of such tubelike objects.
@article{arxiv.1002.2152,
title = {Ground-state properties of tubelike flexible polymers},
author = {Thomas Vogel and Thomas Neuhaus and Michael Bachmann and Wolfhard Janke},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1002.2152},
year = {2010}
}