Abstract
Continuum modeling of lipid bilayers provides insight into the physics underlying geometric changes to the shape of the membrane in response to biological processes. The Helfrich model has been the gold standard for many years and applies only to length scales larger than that of the thickness of the bilayer. For small length scale processes, orientation of the lipid, characterized by ‘lipid tilt’, is a suitable fundamental degree of freedom. In this work, we develop a continuum model with lipid tilt as the key degree of freedom. Using local force balance, we derive the equations of motion associated with the membrane. We use this model to study the characteristics of ripple phases in bilayers. Comparing the continuum model to coarse-grained simulations, we find that the tilt degree of freedom is important to allow for ripple formation in bilayer membranes.
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