 Radius of gyration

For $N$ equally weighted positions, the squared radius of gyration is the average squared distance from the center of mass: $R_g^2=N^{-1}{\sum }_n⟨|{\mathbf{R}}_n-{\mathbf{R}}_{\mathrm{cm}}{|}^2⟩$, where ${\mathbf{R}}_{\mathrm{cm}}=N^{-1}{\sum }_n{\mathbf{R}}_n$. Expanding pair differences gives ${\sum }_{m,n}|{\mathbf{R}}_m-{\mathbf{R}}_n{|}^2=2N{\sum }_n|{\mathbf{R}}_n-{\mathbf{R}}_{\mathrm{cm}}{|}^2$, and thereforeFor a Gaussian chain or freely jointed chain with these $N$ positions and mean squared link length $b^2$, each pair variance is $b^2|m-n|$. Summing separations yields $R_g^2=b^2(N^2-1)/(6N)\sim N{b}^2/6$. Counting all endpoints of $N$ links instead gives $N+1$ positions and the corresponding finite-size formula.