Nonlinear structures and thermodynamic instabilities in a one-dimensional lattice system

Abstract

The equilibrium states of the discrete Peyrard-Bishop Hamiltonian with one end fixed are computed exactly from the two-dimensional nonlinear Morse map. These exact nonlinear structures are interpreted as domain walls (DW), interpolating between bound and unbound segments of the chain. The free energy of the DWs is calculated to leading order beyond the Gaussian approximation. Thermodynamic instabilities (e.g. DNA unzipping and/or thermal denaturation) can be understood in terms of DW formation.

4 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett

References in corpus (3)

• Order of the phase transition in models of DNA thermal denaturation
• Thermodynamic instabilities in one dimension: correlations, scaling and solitons
• Thermodynamic instabilities in one dimensional particle lattices: a finite-size scaling approach

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• Phase transitions in one dimension: are they all driven by domain walls?
• Statistical mechanical model for crack growth
• On the discrete Peyrard-Bishop model of DNA: stationary solutions and stability