A variety of methods are developed for characterising the free energylandscapes of continuum, Landau-type free energy models. Using morphologies oflipid vesicles and a multistable liquid crystal device as examples, I show thatthe methods allow systematic study of not only the most relevant minimum energyconfigurations, but also the transition pathways between any two minima, aswell as their corresponding energy barriers and transition stateconfigurations. A global view of the free energy landscapes can then bevisualized using either a disconnectivity graph or a network representation.Different forms of free energy functionals and boundary conditions can bereadily implemented, thus allowing these tools to be utilised for a broad rangeof problems.
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