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Quantum theory of thermal fluctuations in DNA miniplasmids
Author(s) -
Tobias Irwin
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of quantum chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.484
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-461X
pISSN - 0020-7608
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-461x(1999)72:4<357::aid-qua19>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - quantum , thermodynamics , formalism (music) , minicircle , chemistry , physics , molecular vibration , classical limit , normal mode , quantum mechanics , statistical physics , vibration , molecule , dna , art , musical , biochemistry , visual arts
A recent analysis of the normal modes of vibration of a ring formed from an elastic rod was taken as the basis of a theory of the classical (high‐temperature limit) statistical thermodynamics of a canonical ensemble of DNA minicircles (miniplasmids), each having a given number N of base pairs and given linking number difference Δ L k . Here, the vibrational modes are taken to be quantum mechanical in nature, which, in effect, generalizes the treatment to all temperatures. It is found that significant differences between the ensemble average of the writhing number 〈 W r 〉 as determined from the general theory and that calculated using the classical formalism do not appear except at very low temperatures. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 72: 357–360, 1999