The statistical mechanics of topological polymers: a field theorist point of view
Franco Ferrari · Annalen der Physik · 2002
Abstract This is a self‐contained introduction to polymer physics and to the application of field theoretical techniques to the statistical mechanics of polymer systems. Of course, since polymer physics is a highly interdisciplinary subject, involving different disciplines like knot theory, field theory, statistical mechanics and some notions of bio‐chemistry and chemistry, it is not possible to cover all these topics in a single review. Particular emphasis is given here to the problem of describing the fluctuations of topologically linked polymers in a solution from a microscopical point of view. Some recent advances in this direction are presented. Another purpose of this work is to serve as a guide for whoever would like to apply the methods of field theory to polymers. To ease reading, technical terms have been quoted in boldface characters at the points in which their meaning is explained.