We study the effects of asymmetric bending and twist rigidities and of spontaneous curvature and twist, on the statistical mechanics of fluctuating ribbons. Using a combination of Monte Carlo and differential geometry methods we perform computer simulations and calculate the probability density of the end-to-end distance of a ribbon. We find that for rectilinear ribbons of asymmetric cross section and for spontaneously curved rods with circular cross section, the distirbution of end-to-end distance (but not its mean square) is affected by twist rigidity and by spontaneous twist. Possible relevance of these effects to the physics of DNA is discussed.
展开▼
