Self-replication with errors. A model for polynucleotide replication.

A model for polynucleotide replication is presented and analyzed by means of perturbation theory. Two basic assumptions allow handling of sequences up to a chain length of v approximately 80 explicitly: point mutations are restricted to a two-digit model and individual sequences are subsumed into mutant classes. Perturbation theory is in excellent agreement with the exact results for long enough sequences (v greater than 20).