  RNA molecules form a sequence-specific self-pairing pattern at low
temperatures. We analyze this problem using a random pairing energy model as
well as a random sequence model that includes a base stacking energy in favor
of helix propagation. The free energy cost for separating a chain into two
equal halves offers a quantitative measure of sequence specific pairing. In the
low temperature glass phase, this quantity grows quadratically with the
logarithm of the chain length, but it switches to a linear behavior of entropic
origin in the high temperature molten phase. Transition between the two phases
is continuous, with characteristics that resemble those of a disordered elastic
manifold in two dimensions. For designed sequences, however, a power-law
distribution of pairing energies on a coarse-grained level may be more
appropriate. Extreme value statistics arguments then predict a power-law growth
of the free energy cost to break a chain, in agreement with numerical
simulations. Interestingly, the distribution of pairing distances in the ground
state secondary structure follows a remarkable power-law with an exponent -4/3,
independent of the specific assumptions for the base pairing energies.
