Monte Carlo studies on the freely jointed polymer chain with excluded volume interaction

Abstract

We have carried out computer simulations of the freely jointed polymer chain with an excluded volume interaction using a dynamic Monte Carlo method for chain lengths N between N=8 and N=100. The equilibrium values of end-to-end distances and radius of gyration approach the asymptotic form ∼Nν for N≳70 (scaling limit) and excluded volume parameter d/l=1.0. The scaling limit decreases to lower N for lower d/l. Here l is the length of a chain unit and d is the excluded volume distance. The exponent is ν?0.6 for d/l≠0 and ν=0.5 for d/l=0. The structure function varies as S (k) ∼q−1/ν (q=kNν) over a wide range of q. This asymptotic behavior for large N is found for N≳16 and d/l≠0. Our results are carefully compared to previous studies on the same model where other types of Monte Carlo methods are used.