Exponential bounds for the probability deviations of sums of random fields

Non-asymptotic exponential upper bounds for the deviation probability for a sum of independent random fields are obtained under Bernstein's condition and assumptions formulated in terms of Kolmogorov's metric entropy. These estimations are constructive in the sense that all the constants involved are given explicitly. In the case of moderately large deviations, the upper bounds have optimal log-asymptotices. The exponential estimations are extended to the local and global continuity modulus for sums of independent samples of a random field

Early Stages of Homopolymer Collapse

Interest in the protein folding problem has motivated a wide range of theoretical and experimental studies of the kinetics of the collapse of flexible homopolymers. In this Paper a phenomenological model is proposed for the kinetics of the early stages of homopolymer collapse following a quench from temperatures above to below the theta temperature. In the first stage, nascent droplets of the dense phase are formed, with little effect on the configurations of the bridges that join them. The droplets then grow by accreting monomers from the bridges, thus causing the bridges to stretch. During these two stages the overall dimensions of the chain decrease only weakly. Further growth of the droplets is accomplished by the shortening of the bridges, which causes the shrinking of the overall dimensions of the chain. The characteristic times of the three stages respectively scale as the zeroth, 1/5 and 6/5 power of the the degree of polymerization of the chain.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure