Nature of the glassy phase of RNA secondary structure

F. Krzakala; M. Mézard; M. Müller

doi:doi:10.1209/epl/i2002-00527-x

DOI: 10.1209/epl/i2002-00527-x

Europhys. Lett., 57 (5) , pp. 752-758 (2002)

Nature of the glassy phase of RNA secondary structure

F. Krzakala, M. Mézard and M. Müller

Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modèles Statistiques Université Paris-Sud - Bâtiment 100, F-91405 Orsay, France

(Received 29 August 2001; accepted in final form 6 December 2001)

Abstract
We characterize the low-temperature phase of a simple model for RNA secondary structures by determining the typical energy scale E(l) of excitations involving l bases. At low enough temperatures, including T=0, we find a scaling law $E(l)\sim l^\theta$ with a small exponent $\theta$ . Above a critical temperature, there is a different phase characterized by a relatively flat free-energy landscape resembling that of a homopolymer with a scaling exponent $\theta=1$ . These results strengthen the evidence in favour of the existence of a glass phase at low temperatures.

PACS
87.14.Gg - DNA, RNA.
87.15.-v - Biomolecules: structure and physical properties.
64.60.-i - General studies of phase transitions.

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