A Toda lattice model of DNA

Conference · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:7064439

Christiansen, P L; Scott, A C ^[1]; Muto, V; Lomdahl, P S ^[2]

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1. Danmarks Tekniske Hoejskole, Lyngby (Denmark)
2. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)

In recent years the possibility that anharmonic excitations could play a role in the dynamics of SNA has been considered by several authors. It has been suggested that solitons may be generated thermally at biological temperatures. The denaturation of the DNA double helix has been investigated by statistical mechanics methods and by dynamical simulations. Here the potential for the hydrogen bond in each base pair is approximated by a Morse potential. In the present paper we describe the Toda lattice model of DNA. Temperature enters via the initial conditions and through a perturbation of the dynamical equations. The model is refined by introduction of transversal motion of the Toda lattice and by transversal coupling of two lattices in the hydrogen bonds present in the base pairs. Using Lennard-Jones potentials to model these bonds we are able to obtain results concerning the open states of DNA at biological temperatures. 39 refs., 7 figs.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/MA
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 7064439
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-90-2456; CONF-9007136-1; ON: DE90014901
• Resource Relation: Conference: 1990 summer workshop on nonlinear and chaotic phenomena in plasmas, solids, and fluids, Edmonton (Canada), 16-27 Jul 1990
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
DNA
NUCLEIC ACID DENATURATION
STATISTICAL MODELS
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
BOLTZMANN STATISTICS
SOLITONS
STATISTICAL MECHANICS
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
THERMALIZATION
MECHANICS
NUCLEIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
QUASI PARTICLES
SLOWING-DOWN
550200* - Biochemistry
990200 - Mathematics & Computers