Binding and unbinding of lipid membranes: A Monte Carlo study

Abstract

The behavior of interacting fluid membranes is simulated using a vectorized Monte Carlo code. The Monte Carlo data give clear evidence for the existence of continuous unbinding transitions from a bound to an unbound state of the membranes. The location of the phase boundary and, thus, the macroscopic membrane state is found to be strongly affected by shape fluctuations on microscopic length scales. The observed critical behavior confirms theoretical predictions even though the accessible critical region is severely restricted by the rapid growth of relaxation times.