Phase field models for curvature related interface problems

Professor Qiang Du
Department of Mathematics, Penn State University

We report some recent works on the phase field model of interfacial energies involving curvature terms. Particular examples include the elastic bending energy (the Willmore energy) for biomimetic vesicle membranes. We present some analysis on the sharp interface limit and the convergence of numerical simulation methods. We illustrate the effectiveness of the phase field modeling through simulations of recent biological experiments on two-component membranes. We also discuss how to effectively retrieve topological information of the implicitly defined interfaces within the phase field framework.

Colloquium will be held Friday, April 13 from 3:30 - 4:30 in Gore 104.
Refreshments following the colloquium (4:45) in Ewing 436