Directed Polymers with Constrained Winding Angle

TL;DR

This paper provides an exact, non-perturbative analysis of the entanglement of two directed polymers with repulsive interactions, deriving a formula for the second moment of the winding angle and exploring how forces affect entanglement.

Contribution

It introduces an exact formula for the second moment of the winding angle in a two-polymer system with repulsive interactions, without approximations.

Findings

Repulsive forces influence the degree of entanglement.

Results agree with previous work in the ideal polymer limit.

Provides a thorough analysis of entanglement phenomena.

Abstract

In this article we study from a non-perturbative point of view the entanglement of two directed polymers subjected to repulsive interactions given by a Dirac $\delta-$function potential. An exact formula of the so-called second moment of the winding angle is derived. This result is used to provide a thorough analysis of entanglement phenomena in the classical system of two polymers subjected to repulsive interactions and related problems. No approximation is made in treating the constraint on the winding angle and the repulsive forces. In particular, we investigate how repulsive forces influence the entanglement degree of the two-polymer system. In the limit of ideal polymers, in which the interactions are switched off, we show that our results are in agreement with those of previous works.