Distribution Function of the End-to-End Distance of Semiflexible Polymers

The distribution function of the end-to-end distance of a semiflexible polymer, G(R;L) (where R denotes the end-to-end distance and L the contour length), is calculated using a meanfield-like approach. The theory yields an extremely simple expression for G(R;L) which is in excellent agreement with Monte Carlo simulations. The second and fourth moments of G(R;L) agree with exact results for a semiflexible polymer in both the random coil and the rod limit.