A Phase-Field Model for Vesicle Membranes Incorporating Area-Difference Elasticity
Numerical Analysis
2025-11-19 v1 Numerical Analysis
Abstract
This paper presents a phase-field model for simulating the three-dimensional deformation of vesicle membranes, incorporating area-difference elasticity, with constraints on bulk volume and surface area. We develop efficient numerical schemes based on the Fourier-spectral method for spatial discretization and temporal evolution. The model successfully captures a wide variety of steady-state vesicle shapes. The numerical experiments demonstrate that by tuning the simulation parameters, the vesicle can transition from a simple discocyte shape to a complex, multi-armed starfish-like and nested configuration. These results highlight the crucial role of area-difference elasticity in determining vesicle morphology.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2511.14078,
title = {A Phase-Field Model for Vesicle Membranes Incorporating Area-Difference Elasticity},
author = {Yihong Liang and Emine Celiker and Ping Lin},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.14078},
year = {2025}
}