1,537 research outputs found
Randomly Charged Polymers, Random Walks, and Their Extremal Properties
Motivated by an investigation of ground state properties of randomly charged
polymers, we discuss the size distribution of the largest Q-segments (segments
with total charge Q) in such N-mers. Upon mapping the charge sequence to
one--dimensional random walks (RWs), this corresponds to finding the
probability for the largest segment with total displacement Q in an N-step RW
to have length L. Using analytical, exact enumeration, and Monte Carlo methods,
we reveal the complex structure of the probability distribution in the large N
limit. In particular, the size of the longest neutral segment has a
distribution with a square-root singularity at l=L/N=1, an essential
singularity at l=0, and a discontinuous derivative at l=1/2. The behavior near
l=1 is related to a another interesting RW problem which we call the "staircase
problem". We also discuss the generalized problem for d-dimensional RWs.Comment: 33 pages, 19 Postscript figures, RevTe
Collapse of Randomly Self-Interacting Polymers
We use complete enumeration and Monte Carlo techniques to study
self--avoiding walks with random nearest--neighbor interactions described by
, where is a quenched sequence of ``charges'' on the
chain. For equal numbers of positive and negative charges (), the
polymer with undergoes a transition from self--avoiding behavior to a
compact state at a temperature . The collapse temperature
decreases with the asymmetry Comment: 8 pages, TeX, 4 uuencoded postscript figures, MIT-CMT-
Folding transition of the triangular lattice in a discrete three--dimensional space
A vertex model introduced by M. Bowick, P. Di Francesco, O. Golinelli, and E.
Guitter (cond-mat/9502063) describing the folding of the triangular lattice
onto the face centered cubic lattice has been studied in the hexagon
approximation of the cluster variation method. The model describes the
behaviour of a polymerized membrane in a discrete three--dimensional space. We
have introduced a curvature energy and a symmetry breaking field and studied
the phase diagram of the resulting model. By varying the curvature energy
parameter, a first-order transition has been found between a flat and a folded
phase for any value of the symmetry breaking field.Comment: 11 pages, latex file, 2 postscript figure
Theta-point universality of polyampholytes with screened interactions
By an efficient algorithm we evaluate exactly the disorder-averaged
statistics of globally neutral self-avoiding chains with quenched random charge
in monomer i and nearest neighbor interactions on
square (22 monomers) and cubic (16 monomers) lattices. At the theta transition
in 2D, radius of gyration, entropic and crossover exponents are well compatible
with the universality class of the corresponding transition of homopolymers.
Further strong indication of such class comes from direct comparison with the
corresponding annealed problem. In 3D classical exponents are recovered. The
percentage of charge sequences leading to folding in a unique ground state
approaches zero exponentially with the chain length.Comment: 15 REVTEX pages. 4 eps-figures . 1 tabl
Ground States of Two-Dimensional Polyampholytes
We perform an exact enumeration study of polymers formed from a (quenched)
random sequence of charged monomers , restricted to a 2-dimensional
square lattice. Monomers interact via a logarithmic (Coulomb) interaction. We
study the ground state properties of the polymers as a function of their excess
charge for all possible charge sequences up to a polymer length N=18. We
find that the ground state of the neutral ensemble is compact and its energy
extensive and self-averaging. The addition of small excess charge causes an
expansion of the ground state with the monomer density depending only on .
In an annealed ensemble the ground state is fully stretched for any excess
charge .Comment: 6 pages, 6 eps figures, RevTex, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Effects of Self-Avoidance on the Tubular Phase of Anisotropic Membranes
We study the tubular phase of self-avoiding anisotropic membranes. We discuss
the renormalizability of the model Hamiltonian describing this phase and derive
from a renormalization group equation some general scaling relations for the
exponents of the model. We show how particular choices of renormalization
factors reproduce the Gaussian result, the Flory theory and the Gaussian
Variational treatment of the problem. We then study the perturbative
renormalization to one loop in the self-avoiding parameter using dimensional
regularization and an epsilon-expansion about the upper critical dimension, and
determine the critical exponents to first order in epsilon.Comment: 19 pages, TeX, uses Harvmac. Revised Title and updated references: to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Folding of the Triangular Lattice with Quenched Random Bending Rigidity
We study the problem of folding of the regular triangular lattice in the
presence of a quenched random bending rigidity + or - K and a magnetic field h
(conjugate to the local normal vectors to the triangles). The randomness in the
bending energy can be understood as arising from a prior marking of the lattice
with quenched creases on which folds are favored. We consider three types of
quenched randomness: (1) a ``physical'' randomness where the creases arise from
some prior random folding; (2) a Mattis-like randomness where creases are
domain walls of some quenched spin system; (3) an Edwards-Anderson-like
randomness where the bending energy is + or - K at random independently on each
bond. The corresponding (K,h) phase diagrams are determined in the hexagon
approximation of the cluster variation method. Depending on the type of
randomness, the system shows essentially different behaviors.Comment: uses harvmac (l), epsf, 17 figs included, uuencoded, tar compresse
Crumpling a Thin Sheet
Crumpled sheets have a surprisingly large resistance to further compression.
We have studied the crumpling of thin sheets of Mylar under different loading
conditions. When placed under a fixed compressive force, the size of a crumpled
material decreases logarithmically in time for periods up to three weeks. We
also find hysteretic behavior when measuring the compression as a function of
applied force. By using a pre-treating protocol, we control this hysteresis and
find reproducible scaling behavior for the size of the crumpled material as a
function of the applied force.Comment: revtex 4 pages, 6 eps figures submitted to Phys Rev. let
Folding transitions of the triangular lattice with defects
A recently introduced model describing the folding of the triangular lattice
is generalized allowing for defects in the lattice and written as an Ising
model with nearest-neighbor and plaquette interactions on the honeycomb
lattice. Its phase diagram is determined in the hexagon approximation of the
cluster variation method and the crossover from the pure Ising to the pure
folding model is investigated, obtaining a quite rich structure with several
multicritical points. Our results are in very good agreement with the available
exact ones and extend a previous transfer matrix study.Comment: 16 pages, latex, 5 postscript figure
THERMODYNAMICS OF A BROWNIAN BRIDGE POLYMER MODEL IN A RANDOM ENVIRONMENT
We consider a directed random walk making either 0 or moves and a
Brownian bridge, independent of the walk, conditioned to arrive at point on
time . The Hamiltonian is defined as the sum of the square of increments of
the bridge between the moments of jump of the random walk and interpreted as an
energy function over the bridge connfiguration; the random walk acts as the
random environment. This model provides a continuum version of a model with
some relevance to protein conformation. The thermodynamic limit of the specific
free energy is shown to exist and to be self-averaging, i.e. it is equal to a
trivial --- explicitly computed --- random variable. An estimate of the
asymptotic behaviour of the ground state energy is also obtained.Comment: 20 pages, uuencoded postscrip
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