Functional self-similarity, scaling and a renormalization group calculation of the partition function for a non-ideal chain

The hypothesis of asymptotic self-similarity for nonideal polymer chains is used to derive the functional and differential equations of a new renormalization group. These equations are used to calculate the partition functions of randomly jointed chains with hard-sphere excluded-volume interactions. Theoretical predictions are compared with Monte Carlo calculations based on the same microscopic chain model. The excess partition function converges very slowly to its true asymptotic form δQ(N→∞)∼κN−1. The conventional asymptotic formula, δQ(N→∞)∼κN−1Nγ−1, is found to be applicable for chains of moderate length and for excluded-volume interactions appropriate to the subclass of flexible self-avoiding chains.