RNA Folding and Large N Matrix Theory

H. Orland; A. Zee

doi:10.1016/s0550-3213(01)00522-3

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arXiv · cond-mat/0106359

RNA Folding and Large N Matrix Theory

H. Orland·A. Zee

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Abstract

We formulate the RNA folding problem as an $N\times N$ matrix field theory. This matrix formalism allows us to give a systematic classification of the terms in the partition function according to their topological character. The theory is set up in such a way that the limit $N\to \infty$ yields the so-called secondary structure (Hartree theory). Tertiary structure and pseudo-knots are obtained by calculating the $1/N^2$ corrections to the partition function. We propose a generalization of the Hartree recursion relation to generate the tertiary structure.

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H. Orland, A. Zee. 2001-06-20. RNA Folding and Large N Matrix Theory. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0550-3213(01)00522-3

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