A first proof of knot localization for polymers in a nanochannel

Abstract

Based on polymer scaling theory and numerical evidence, Orlandini, Tesi, Janse van Rensburg and Whittington conjectured in 1996 that the limiting entropy of knot-type K lattice polygons is the same as that for unknot polygons, and that the entropic critical exponent increases by one for each prime knot in the knot decomposition of K. This Knot Entropy (KE) conjecture is consistent with the idea that for unconfined polymers, knots occur in a localized way (the knotted part is relatively small compared to polymer length). For full confinement (to a sphere or box), numerical evidence suggests that knots are much less localized. Numerical evidence for nanochannel or tube confinement is mixed, depending on how the size of a knot is measured. Here we outline the proof that the KE conjecture holds for polygons in the ∞×2×1 lattice tube and show that knotting is localized when a connected-sum measure of knot size is used. Similar results are established for linked polygons. This is the first model for which the knot entropy conjecture has been proved.