A polymer in good solvent modeled as a self-avoiding random walk (SAW). The Flory exponent ν≈0.588 in 3D predicts ⟨R²⟩^{1/2} ~ N^ν, measured here by growing thousands of chains.
N=0 R_e=0.00 ν_fit=—
Self-avoiding walks model flexible polymers in good solvents where excluded volume dominates. In 2D: ν=3/4 (exact, Nienhuis 1982). In 3D: ν≈0.5876 (Clisby 2010, high-precision MC). Theta solvent: ν=1/2 (ideal chain, random walk). Melt: ν=1/2 (screening). The Flory argument: minimize F = k_BT(R²/Nl²) + k_BT·N²b³/R³ → ν=3/(d+2) gives ν=3/5 in 3D (surprisingly close to exact 0.588).