Exact partition function zeros of the Wako-Saitô-Muñoz-Eaton β hairpin model.

I compute exact partition function zeros of β hairpins, using both analytic and numerical methods, extending previous work [J. Lee, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 248101 (2013)] where only a restricted class of hairpins was considered. The zeros of β hairpins with an odd number of peptide bonds are computed and the difference of the distribution of zeros from those for an even number of peptide bonds is explained in terms of additional entropy of liberating the extra bond at the turn region. Upon the introduction of a hydrophobic core in the central region of the hairpin, the zeros are distributed uniformly on two concentric circles corresponding to the hydrophobic collapse and the transition to the fully folded conformation. One of the circles dissolves as the core moves toward the turn or the tip region, which is explained in terms of the similarity of the intermediate state with the folded or unfolded states. The exact partition function zeros for a hairpin with a more complex structure of native contacts, the 16 C-terminal residues of streptococcal protein G B1, are numerically computed and their loci are closely approximated by concentric circles.