Small membranes under negative surface tension

TL;DR

This study uses simulations and a free energy model to explore how small membranes respond to negative surface tension, revealing two elastic regimes and the relationship between mechanical and fluctuation tensions.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of small membrane behavior under negative tension, identifying two elastic regimes and their distinct properties, extending previous understanding from giant vesicles.

Findings

Two elastic regimes identified: stretching-dominated and bending-dominated.

Fluctuation tension decreases faster than mechanical tension in negative regimes.

Thermal undulation amplitudes diverge at mechanical instability onset.

Abstract

We use computer simulations and a simple free energy model to study the response of a bilayer membrane to the application of a negative (compressive) mechanical tension. Such a tension destabilizes the long wavelength undulation modes of giant vesicles, but it can be sustained when small membranes and vesicles are considered. Our negative tension simulation results reveal two regimes - (i) a weak negative tension regime characterized by stretching-dominated elasticity, and (ii) a strong negative tension regime featuring bending-dominated elastic behavior. This resembles the findings of the classic Evans and Rawicz micropipette aspiration experiment in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) [Phys, Rev. Lett. {\bf 64}, 2094 (1990)]. However, while in GUVs the crossover between the two elasticity regimes occurs at a small positive surface tension, in smaller membranes it takes place at a moderate negative tension. Another interesting observation concerning the response of a small membrane to negative surface tension is related to the relationship between the mechanical and fluctuation tensions, which are equal to each other for non-negative values. When the tension decreases to negative values, the fluctuation tension $\gamma$ drops somewhat faster than $\tau$ in the small negative tension regime, before it saturates (and becomes larger than $\tau$) for large negative tensions. The bending modulus exhibit an "opposite" trend. It remains almost unchanged in the stretching-dominated elastic regime, and decreases in the bending-dominated regime. Both the amplitudes of the thermal height undulations and the projected area variations diverge at the onset of mechanical instability.