Polymerized Membranes with Quenched Random Internal Disorder

Abstract

We study polymerized membranes with quenched random internal disorder, caused by impurity-induced fluctuations in the preferred metric. Although the flat phase characteristic of pure systems persists when the disorder is weak, membranes are destabilized by a disorder-induced softening of the bending rigidity at zero temperature. Our calculations are consistent with a re-entrant phase transition and glassy behavior at low temperatures.