Statistical physics of flexible membranes

Reinhard Lipowsky

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 1993, vol. 194, issue 1, 114-127

Abstract: Theoretical work on the shape and on the interaction of flexible membranes is briefly reviewed. Shape transformations can be induced by changes in temperature, by intermembrane domains, or by adhesion towards an attractive surface. The interaction of membranes is governed by the interplay between molecular forces and fluctuations. The molecular roughness on small scales leads to short-ranged repulsive interactions which can contribute to the hydration force. Shape fluctuations on larger scales give rise to unbinding or adhesion transitions. For two interacting membranes, one has to distinguish several universality classes which correspond to a whole line of renormalization group fixed points. Recent theoretical work shows that such a line also governs the unbinding for bunches of more than two membranes.

Date: 1993
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:194:y:1993:i:1:p:114-127

DOI: 10.1016/0378-4371(93)90346-6

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