Anisotropic surface tension of buckled fluid membrane

Abstract: Solid sheets and fluid membranes exhibit buckling under lateral compression. Here, it is revealed that fluid membranes have anisotropic buckling surface tension contrary to solid sheets. Surprisingly, the surface tension perpendicular to the buckling direction shows stronger dependence than that parallel to it. Our theoretical predictions are supported by numerical simulations of a meshless membrane model. This anisotropic tension can be used to measure the membrane bending rigidity. It is also found phase synchronization occurs between multilayered buckled membranes.