The Freezing of Random RNA

Michael Lässig , Kay Joerg Wiese (1)

1 LPTENS - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de l'ENS [École Normale Supérieure]

We study secondary structures of random RNA molecules by means of a renormalized field theory based on an expansion in the sequence disorder. We show that there is a continuous phase transition from a molten phase at higher temperatures to a low-temperature glass phase. The primary freezing occurs above the critical temperature, with local islands of stable folds forming within the molten phase. The size of these islands defines the correlation length of the transition. Our results include critical exponents at the transition and in the glass phase.

Domaines: Autre [cond-mat.other]

Michael Lässig, Kay Joerg Wiese. The Freezing of Random RNA. Physical Review Letters, 2006, 96, pp.228101. ⟨hal-00172145⟩