Publication : t89/148

Abstract:
We study polymerized (elastic) membranes fluctuating under constrained boundary conditions. We show that the low-temperature, "flat" phase is not described by the classical theory of elasticity. Thermal fluctuations induce important modifications to mechanical laws such as Hooke's law. We study the approach to the buckled state of membranes, verify the finite-size scaling relations and measure related critical exponents. In the presence of thermal fluctuations the buckled state is qualitatively different from its classical counterpart.