Topological Signatures of Globular Polymers

Simulations in which a globular ring polymer with delocalized knots is separated in two interacting loops by a slipping link, or in two noninteracting globuli by a wall with a hole, show how the minimal crossing number of the knots controls the equilibrium statistics. With slipping link the ring length is divided between the loops according to a simple law, but with unexpectedly large fluctuations. These are suppressed only for unknotted loops, whose length distribution always shows a fast power-law decay. We also discover and explain a topological effect interfering with that of surface tension in the globule translocation through a membrane nanopore.