2014/12/31 by Yann Bernard, Glen Wheeler, Valentina‐Mira Wheeler +1
Mathematics · Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Classical mechanics #Computer science #Erythrocyte Function and Pathophysiology #Geometric Analysis and Curvature Flows #Mathematics #Nonlinear Waves and Solitons #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Rigidity (electromagnetism) #SPHERES #Stability (learning theory) #math-ph #math.AP #math.DG #math.MP #msc:00A71 #msc:51P05 #msc:74K15
paper · pdf · doi:10.4171/ifb/390
published as Bernard Yann, Wheeler Glen, Wheeler Valentina-Mira: Rigidity and stability of spheres in the Helfrich model. Interfaces Free Bound. 19 (2017), 495-523 · 32 pages
openalex publication_date 2018/01/15 · arxiv created 2018/11/20 · arxiv updated 2018/11/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The Helfrich functional, denoted by \mathcal Hc0 , is a mathematical expression proposed by Helfrich (1973) for the natural free energy carried by an elastic phospholipid bilayer. Helfrich theorises that idealised elastic phospholipid bilayers minimise \mathcal Hc0 among all possible configurations. The functional integrates a spontaneous curvature parameter c0 together with the mean curvature of the bilayer and constraints on area and volume, either through an inclusion of osmotic pressure difference and tensile stress or otherwise. Using the mathematical concept of embedded orientable surface to represent the configuration of the bilayer, one might expect to be able to adapt methods from differential geometry and the calculus of variations to perform a fine analysis of bilayer configurations in terms of the parameters that it depends upon. In this article we focus upon the case of spherical red blood cells with a view to better understanding spherocytes and spherocytosis. We provide a complete classification of spherical solutions in terms of the parameters in the Helfrich model. We additionally present some further analysis on the rigidity and stability of spherocytes.