Analytical and numerical solutions for shapes of quiescent two-dimensional vesicles

We describe an analytic method for the computation of equilibrium shapes for two-dimensional vesicles characterized by a Helfrich elastic energy. We derive boundary value problems and solve them analytically in terms of elliptic functions and elliptic integrals. We derive solutions by prescribing length and area, or displacements and angle boundary conditions. The solutions are compared to solutions obtained by a boundary integral equation-based numerical scheme. Our method enables the identification of different configurations of deformable vesicles and accurate calculation of their shape, bending moments, tension, and the pressure jump across the vesicle membrane. Furthermore, we perform numerical experiments that indicate that all these configurations are stable minima.