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Experimental data on thin films of cylinder-forming block copolymers (BC) -- free-standing BC membranes as well as supported BC films -- strongly suggest that the local orientation of the BC patterns is coupled to the geometry in which the…
Flaps can be detached from a thin film glued on a solid substrate by tearing and peeling. For flat substrates, it has been shown that these flaps spontaneously narrow and collapse in pointy triangular shapes. Here we show that various…
We investigate the mechanical response of a compressed monolayer of large and dense particles at a liquid-fluid interface: a granular raft. Upon compression, rafts first wrinkle; then, as the confinement increases, the deformation localizes…
Thin elastic films can spontaneously attach to liquid interfaces, offering a platform for tailoring their physical, chemical, and optical properties. Current understanding of the elastocapillarity of thin films is based primarily on studies…
Depending on its geometry, a spherical shell may exist in one of two stable states without the application of any external force: there are two `self-equilibrated' states, one natural and the other inside out (or `everted'). Though this is…
We consider the point-indentation of a pressurized elastic shell. It has previously been shown that such a shell is subject to a wrinkling instability as the indentation depth is quasi-statically increased. Here we present detailed analysis…
Motivated to understand the behavior of biological filaments interacting with membranes of various types, we study a theoretical model for the shape and thermodynamics of intrinsically-helical filaments bound to curved membranes. We show…
This work is devoted to analyze the relation between the thermodynamic properties of a confined fluid and the shape of its confining vessel. Recently, new insights in this topic were found through the study of cluster integrals for…
Curved elastic shells can be fabricated through molding or by harnessing residual stresses. These shells often exhibit snap-through behavior and multistability when loaded. We present a unique way of fabricating curved elastic shells that…
Wrinkling instabilities of thin elastic sheets can be used to generate periodic structures over a wide range of length scales. Viscosity of the thin elastic sheet or its surrounding medium has been shown to be responsible for dynamic…
The existence of a crumpled phase for self-avoiding elastic surfaces was postulated more than three decades ago using simple Flory-like scaling arguments. Despite much effort, its stability in a microscopic environment has been the subject…
The formation of periodic wrinkles in soft layered materials due to mechanical instabilities is prevalent in nature and has been proposed for use in multiple applications. However, such phenomena have been explored predominantly in…
We report a surface instability observed during the extrusion of extremely soft elastic solids in confined geometries. Due to their unique rheological properties, these soft solids can migrate through narrow gaps by continuously everting…
Curved structures in soft matter and biological systems commonly emerge as a result of self-assembly processes where building blocks aggregate in a controlled manner, giving rise to specific system structure and properties. Learning how to…
Geometric confinement plays an important role in the dynamics of natural and synthetic microswimmers from bacterial cells to self-propelled particles in high-throughput microfluidic devices. However, little is known about the effects of…
When considering flows in biological membranes, they are usually treated as flat, though more often than not, they are curved surfaces, even extremely curved, as in the case of the endoplasmic reticulum. Here, we study the topological…
A remarkable property of flexible self-avoiding elastic surfaces (membranes) is that they remain flat at all temperatures, even in the absence of a bending rigidity or in the presence of active fluctuations. Here, we report numerical…
Diffusion-driven patterns appear on curved surfaces in many settings, initiated by unstable modes of an underlying Laplacian operator. On a flat surface or perfect sphere, the patterns are degenerate, reflecting translational/rotational…
The localized loading of an elastic sheet floating on a liquid bath occurs at scales from a frog sitting on a lily pad to a volcano supported by the Earth's tectonic plates. The load is supported by a combination of the stresses within the…
We theoretically study the conformations of a helical semi-flexible filament confined to a flat surface. This squeezed helix exhibits a variety of unexpected shapes resembling circles, waves or spirals depending on the material parameters.…