title: Energy patterns in twist-opening models of DNA with solvent interactions.
abstract: Energy localization, via modulation instability, is addressed in a modified twist-opening model of DNA with solvent interactions. The Fourier expansion method is used to reduce the complex roto-torsional equations of the system to a set of discrete coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations, which are used to perform the analytical investigation of modulation instability. We find that the instability criterion is highly influenced by the solvent parameters. Direct numerical simulations, performed on the generic model, further confirm our analytical predictions, as solvent interactions bring about highly localized energy patterns. These patterns are also shown to be robust under thermal fluctuations.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biophysics, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon, conrad@aims.ac.za.
authors.forename: Conrad Bertrand
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Tabi
authors.forename: Grégoire
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bineli
authors.forename: Alidou
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mohamadou
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D008958:Models, Molecular; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry*; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D012997:Solvents; D004247:DNA