Quantum effective potential, electron transport and conformons in biopolymers

In the Kirchhoff model of a biopolymer, conformation dynamics can be described in terms of solitary waves, for certain special cross-section asymmetries. Applying this to the problem of electron transport, we show that the quantum effective potential arising due to the bends and twists of the polymer enables us to formalize and quantify the concept of a conformon that has been hypothesized in biology. Its connection to the soliton solution of the cubic nonlinear Schrodinger equation emerges in a natural fashion.