J. Phys. France 51, 2653-2672 (1990)
DOI: 10.1051/jphys:0199000510230265300
Fluctuations in the flat and collapsed phases of polymerized membranes
Farid F. Abraham1 et David R. Nelson21 IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road, San Jose, California 95120-6099, U.S.A.
2 Lyman Laboratory of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, U.S.A.
Abstract
Fluctuations in polymerized membranes are explored via extensive molecular dynamics simulations of simplified « tethered surface » models. The entropic rigidity associated with repulsive second-nearest-neighbor interactions leads to a flattening of « phantom surfaces ». An attractive interaction in the presence of distant self-avoidance leads to a collapsed membrane with fractal dimension three at sufficiently low temperatures. When the attractive interaction is turned off, the surface returns to the flat phase found in earlier simulations. A study of density profiles and hexatic internal order allows a simple physical interpretation of results for the structure function of oriented membranes.
8239W - Ion exchange, dialysis, osmosis, electro-osmosis, membrane processes.
0540 - Fluctuation phenomena, random processes, noise, and Brownian motion.
8716D - Membranes, bilayers, and vesicles.
Key words
biomembranes -- fluctuations -- fractals -- membranes -- molecular dynamics method -- random processes