Meander, folding, and arch statistics

The statistics of meander and related problems are studied as particular realizations of compact polymer chain foldings. This paper presents a general discussion of these topics, with a particular emphasis on three points: (i) the use of a direct recursive relation for building (semi)meanders, (ii) the equivalence with a random matrix model, and (iii) the exact solution of simpler related problems, such as arch configurations or irreducible meanders.