Dynamics of a fluctuating semi-flexible membrane

We report our preliminary studies of conformations and dynamics of a fluctuating semi-flexible membrane. Our model of membrane with linear dimension $L$ consists of $N^2$ ($L=Nb_l$) excluded volume beads connected by anharmonic springs. The stiffness of the membrane is controlled by adjusting the strength $\kappa_b$ of the bending potential $U_{\rm bend} = \kappa_b \left(1 - \hat{n}_i\cdot \hat{n}_j\right)$ between adjacent elementary plaquettes consisting of three beads at the corners connected by bonds and characterized by normal unit vectors $ \hat{n}_i$ and $\hat{n}_j$. We study the conformations and dynamic fluctuations of the membrane using Brownian dynamics simulation. We show how the radius of gyration scales with $N$ and $\kappa_b$, and study characteristics of the transverse fluctuations, the root-mean-square displacement of the center of mass, and the dynamics of the end monomers at each corner.