Generalized minimizing movements for the varifold Canham–Helfrich flow

Abstract

The gradient flow of the Canham–Helfrich functional is tackled via the generalized minimizing movements approach. We prove the existence of solutions in Wasserstein spaces of varifolds, as well as upper and lower diameter bounds. In the more regular setting of multiply covered C 1 , 1 {C^{1,1}} surfaces, we provide a Li–Yau-type estimate for the Canham–Helfrich energy and prove the conservation of multiplicity along the evolution.