Giant vesicles at the prolate-oblate transition: A macroscopic bistable system

Details Giant vesicles at the prolate-oblate transition: A macroscopic bistable system Giant vesicles at the prolate-oblate transition: A macroscopic bistable system

1996-09-20

arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/9609208v1

Europhys. Lett. 36, 325-330 (1996)

Physics

Condensed Matter

10 pages, LaTeX, epsfig, 4 eps figures included, to appear in Europhys. Lett

Scientific paper

10.1209/epl/i1996-00230-6

Giant phospholipid vesicles are shown to exhibit thermally activated transitions between a prolate and an oblate shape on a time scale of several seconds. From the fluctuating contour of such a vesicle we extract ellipticity as an effective reaction coordinate whose temporal probability distribution is bimodal. We then reconstruct the effective potential from which we derive an activation energy of the order of $k_BT$ in agreement with theoretical calculations. The dynamics of this transition is well described within a Kramers model of overdamped diffusion in a bistable potential. Thus, this system can serve as a model for macroscopic bistability.

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