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arXiv · 2606.01001

Axisymmetric membrane shapes in the Willmore and Helfrich models: first integrals and a hyperbolic formulation

Z. C. Tu
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Abstract

The equilibrium shapes of fluid lipid membranes are governed by nonlinear differential equations derived from the Helfrich bending energy. In the tensionless, pressure-free, and zero-spontaneous- curvature limit, the governing equation reduces to the Willmore equation. We show that the combination of the Zheng--Liu and Langer--Singer first integrals reduces the third-order axisymmetric Willmore equation to a first-order ordinary differential equation. This formulation recovers the sphere, axisymmetric minimal surfaces, and the Clifford torus as special cases, while organizing the local solution space according to two integration constants. For nonzero spontaneous curvature, the axisymmetric Helfrich functional is reformulated as the energy of an inhomogeneous hyperbolic elastica with a preferred curvature proportional to the distance from the axis. This formulation identifies a constant-mean-curvature branch and a logarithmic branch associated with a biconcave disk profile. The resulting exact relations provide analytical constraints and benchmark solutions for configurations of axisymmetric vesicles and biomembranes.

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Z. C. Tu. 2026-05-31. Axisymmetric membrane shapes in the Willmore and Helfrich models: first integrals and a hyperbolic formulation. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.01001

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