Abstract
A variational scheme is proposed which allows the derivation of a concise and elegant formulation of the equilibrium equations for closed fluid membranes, endowed with a nematic microstructure. The nematic order is described by an in-plane nematic director and a degree of orientation, as customary in the theory of uniaxial nematics. The only constitutive ingredient in this scheme is a free-energy density which depends on the vesicle geometry and order parameters. The stress and the couple stress tensors related to this free-energy density are provided. As an application of the proposed scheme, a certain number of special theories are deduced: soap bubbles, lipid vesicles, chiral and achiral nematic membranes, and nematics on curved substrates.
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