We use large scale Monte Carlo simulations to test scaling theories for the
electrostatic persistence length le of isolated, uniformly charged polymers
with \DH intrachain interactions in the limit where the screening length
κ−1 exceeds the intrinsic persistence length of the chains. Our
simulations cover a significantly larger part of the parameter space than
previous studies. We observe no significant deviations from the prediction
le∝κ−2 by Khokhlov and Khachaturian which is based on applying
the Odijk-Skolnick-Fixman theory to the stretched de
Gennes-Pincus-Velasco-Brochard polyelectrolyte blob chain. A linear or
sublinear dependence of the persistence length on the screening length can be
ruled out. We argue that previous numerical results pointing into this
direction are probably due to a combination of excluded volume and finite chain
length effects. The paper emphasizes the role of scaling arguments in the
development of useful representations for experimental and simulation data.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure