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Scaling of a collapsed polymer globule in two dimensions
Marco Baiesi1, Enzo Orlandini, Attilio L Stella
1Instituut voor Theoretische Fysica, K.U. Leuven, B-3001, Belgium.
Physical Review Letters
|February 21, 2006
Summary
Extensive Monte Carlo simulations confirm that collapsed linear polymers in 2D belong to the universality class of dense self-avoiding walks. However, the globule
Area of Science:
- Polymer Physics
- Statistical Mechanics
Background:
- Understanding polymer collapse is crucial in statistical mechanics.
- Previous theories conjectured specific universality classes for collapsed polymers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide clear evidence for the universality class of collapsed linear polymers in two dimensions.
- To investigate the properties of the globule boundary and its entropic contributions.
Main Methods:
- Extensive Monte Carlo data analysis.
- Analysis of polymer configurations and their partition functions.
Main Results:
- Clear evidence that collapsed linear polymers in 2D fall into the universality class of athermal, dense self-avoiding walks.
- The globule boundary exhibits self-affine roughness.
- No nonzero topological boundary contribution to entropic exponents was observed.
- Scaling corrections arise from polymer configurations with one end on the globule-solvent interface.
Conclusions:
- The study confirms Duplantier's conjecture regarding the universality class of collapsed 2D polymers.
- The observed boundary roughness and lack of topological contribution necessitate further investigation into polymer globule properties.
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