What is the intrinsic length of knots in fluctuating polymers?
Attilio Stella
Abstract
Length can be precisely defined only for ideal knots tied into the shortest rope of given diameter. Nevertheless, the length of loose knots tied into fluctuating closed strings plays a key role in various phenomena involving long macromolecules. We will discuss a statistical definition of knot length based on the entropic competition of different prime knots within the same polymer in equilibrium in a good solvent. Results obtained from this definition concern the leading corrections to scaling for polymers with constrained topology and the delocalization of knots in collapsed phase.
Elenco dei partecipanti al convegno di Bari.