Extended Data Fig. 5: Characterization of interactions between elastic monopoles.

The strength of the elastic monopoles considered here differs from that in the main-text figures. a, c, Separation distance versus time of monopolar attraction (a) and repulsion (c). Red lines in a and c are the best fits of the experimental data with the function r_c(t) = (r₀³ − 3αt)^1/3 and with fitting coefficients r₀ = 16.7 μm, α = 21.1 μm³ s^-1 (a) and r₀ = 16.2 μm, α = −10.6 μm³ s⁻¹ (c). b, d, Dependence of the corresponding potential and force (insets) on the distance. Blue lines are the best fits of the experimental data with a potential proportional to ±1/r_c. The elastic charge estimated from the fitting parameters is 0.51 μm (a, b) and 0.36 μm (c, d).