Drag Coefficient of a Raftlike Domain Embedded in a Fluid Membrane Being a Near-Critical Binary Mixture

We consider a circular liquid domain in a flat fluid membrane surrounded by three-dimensional fluids, and assume that the membrane outside the domain is a two-dimensional near-critical binary fluid mixture. The membrane viscosity outside the domain is assumed to be uniform, irrespective of the local composition, and to be the same as that of the domain. Using the Gaussian free-energy functional, we show that the drag coefficient of the domain can be decreased by the preferential attraction between the domain and a component of the mixture, unlike that of a rigid sphere in a three-dimensional near-critical binary fluid mixture studied recently.