Critical exponents for random knots
The size of a zero-thickness (no excluded volume) nonphantom polymer ring is shown to scale with chain length N in the same way as the size of the excluded-volume (self-avoiding) linear polymer, that is, as Nnu, where nu approximately 0.588. The consequences of this fact are examined, including the sizes of trivial and nontrivial knots.
Grosberg
AY
Department of Physics, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.