On the topology of a polymer ring
- 8 February 1986
- journal article
- Published by The Royal Society in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences
- Vol. 403 (1825) , 269-284
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1986.0012
Abstract
First we survey the literature on knots and links in theoretical physics. Next, we report a numerical study in which equilibrium configurations of ring polymers in an infinite space, or confined to the interior of a sphere, are generated. By using a new algorithm, the a priori probability for the occurrence of a knot is determined numerically. The results are compatible with scaling laws of striking simplicity. We also study the mutual entanglement of links, comparing the Gauss invariant with the Alexander polynomial.Keywords
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