Crumpling transition in polymerized membranes

The effect of a finite bending rigidity on flexible, polymerized surfaces without self-avoidance is studied via the Monte Carlo method. Unlike linear polymers or liquid membranes, these surfaces undergo a remarkable finite-temperature crumpling transition, with a diverging specific heat. For small /kBT, the surface is crumpled, and the radius of gyration RG grows as lnL1/2, where L is the linear size of uncrumpled membrane. For large /kBT, we find that the surface remains flat, i.e., RGL. Our results strongly suggest a finite-temperature crumpling transition in polymerized self-avoiding membranes as well.