On a Stokes-type system arising in fluid vesicle dynamics

Abstract

This article is the first in a series of papers on the analysis of a basic model for fluid vesicle dynamics. There are two variants of this model, a parabolic one decribing purely relaxational dynamics and a non-parabolic one containing the full dynamics. At the heart of both variants lies a linear elliptic system of Stokes-type. Understanding the mapping properties of this Stokes-type system is crucial for all further analysis. In this article we give a basic exposition of the dynamical model and a thorough $L_2$-analysis of the Stokes-type system that takes into account geometric variations of the fluid vesicle.