Analysis of the ring‐closure probabilities of isotropic wormlike chains: Application to duplex DNA

The configurational properties of an isotropically bendable wormlike chain have been investigated using a Monte Carlo approach. In particular, radial distributions for end‐to‐end separation, ring closure probabilities, and the angular correlation of the two ends of the chain have all been determined as a function of the contour length of the chain. The results of this analysis, when applied to the data of Shore et al. [(1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78 , 4833–4837] for the length dependence of ring closure for doublehelical DNA, yields a value for the persistence length of DNA in remarkable agreement with earlier hydrodynamic studies.