Dynamics of Large Random Systems

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This grant is co-funded between the Materials Theory and the Biophysics programs at NSF. Several topics in condensed matter physics will be investigated. The primary emphasis will be on gel electrophoresis, a topic of great importance in biology and materials processing. The electrophoresis of very long chain polymers such as megabase length DNA is still not well understood. There are still many unexplained experimental effects that greatly reduce the efficacy of this technique. These effects will be explored theoretically in consultation with experimentalists. A newly developed long range Monte Carlo algorithm will be used and will include the effects of gel heterogeneity and intra-chain repulsion. Work will also be undertaken on the effect of polymers on turbulent flow by extending an analytical treatment developed by the principal investigator to more realistic descriptions of the velocity field. Research will also be conducted on novel random matrix ensembles and their connection with the quantum statistical properties of isolated systems. %%% Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is an experimental technique used to separate DNA molecules containing up to two million base pairs. This discovery was a critical factor in making the human genome project possible. DNA can be viewed as a polymer and the methodology of polymer science can be applied to studies of the behavior of DNA in an electric field. The present grant will continue fundamental and critical studies on theoretical and computational aspects of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Such studies help in interpreting the experimental results and in predicting useful behavior of this important technique.