Description
Two-dimensional crystal membranes (most notably graphene) are subject to external strain imposed by the environment in which they are placed. Under external tension, the membranes are expected to be in a harmonic regime, that is, to exhibit logarithmic behavior of fluctuations. The behavior of fluctuations of compressed membranes is considerably more subtle, as their equilibrium states no longer correspond to the flat phase, and perturbative methods are not directly applicable. In this talk, we will present recent progress toward understanding harmonic effects in compressed two-dimensional crystal membranes. The talk is based on joint work with Stanislav Smirnov and Mikhail Katsnelson.