  We use computer simulations and scaling arguments to investigate statistical
and structural properties of a semiflexible ribbon composed of isosceles
triangles. We study two different models, one where the bending energy is
calculated from the angles between the normal vectors of adjacent triangles,
the second where the edges are viewed as semiflexible polymers so that the
bending energy is related to the angles between the tangent vectors of
next-nearest neighbor triangles. The first model can be solved exactly whereas
the second is more involved. It was recently introduced by Liverpool and
Golestanian Phys.Rev.Lett. 80, 405 (1998), Phys.Rev.E 62, 5488 (2000) as a
model for double-stranded biopolymers such as DNA. Comparing observables such
as the autocorrelation functions of the tangent vectors and the bond-director
field, the probability distribution functions of the end-to-end distance, and
the mean squared twist we confirm the existence of local twist correlation, but
find no indications for other predicted features such as twist-stretch
coupling, kinks, or oscillations in the autocorrelation function of the
bond-director field.
