Coil to rod transitions in Monte Carlo simulations of a short polyelectrolyte. II. Natural screening and a new thermal effect

A new thermal effect appears in a Monte Carlo simulation of a system of a single short polyelectrolyte chain together with counter ions in a dielectric continuum solvent. Interactions are taken to be Coulombic and the behavior at various temperatures is investigated. A ‘‘natural’’ screening effect is compared to the Debye–Hückel screening effect which was described in a previous article. Great differences between these effects are observed at 0