title: Pulling pinned polymers and unzipping DNA.
abstract: We study a class of micromanipulation experiments, exemplified by the pulling apart of the two strands of double-stranded DNA. When the pulling force is increased to a critical value, an "unzipping" transition occurs. For random DNA sequences with short-ranged correlations, we obtain exact results for the number of monomers liberated and the specific heat, including the critical behavior at the transition. Related systems include a random heteropolymer pulled away from an adsorbing surface and a vortex line in a type II superconductor tilted away from a fragmented columnar defect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. lubensky@cmt.harvard.edu
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Lubensky
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011108:Polymers
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D004247:DNA