Extended Data Fig. 2: Comparison and visualization of perturbed nematic order at different disk orientations.
From: Thermally reconfigurable monoclinic nematic colloidal fluids
a, Comparison of colloidal particles with tangential surface boundary conditions shaped as thin disks with different orientations (top) and a microring (bottom) in 5CB imaged by bright-field microscopy under similar conditions, with the latter inducing four boojum surface point defects visible as dark, light-scattering spots. No light-scattering singular defects are detected around the disks. b–g, Numerical modelling of nm distortions around a disk at θe = 90°. b–d, Visualization of energy-minimizing nm distortions around the disk, where the green isosurface-enclosed region indicates deviation of nm by >2° from its uniform far field and the black isosurface-enclosed region shows where Sm is reduced by >5% below its bulk equilibrium value. Colours of streamlines depict the opposite directions of local nm tilting relative to the midplane of the disk. e–g, nm distortions near the same disk at 0 nm (e), 10 nm (f) and 50 nm (g) away from its midplane. h–m, Numerical modelling of a disk-induced nm corona at θe = 75°. h–j, Visualization of energy-minimizing nm distortions around the disk, where the green isosurface-enclosed region indicates deviation of nm by >2° from its uniform far-field background. The grey pane in i, j that intersects the green isosurfaces helps to show the monoclinic symmetry of nm distortions relative to the midplane of the disk. k–m, Isosurfaces enclosing small regions with Sm reduced by >5% below its bulk value (black surfaces) and colour-coded local nm distortions around the disk. Right-side insets in k depict details of nematic order perturbations at the disk edges. Field lines in l are shown 250 nm away from the disk centre and the single mirror-symmetry plane. n–r, Visualizations similar to h–m, but for θe = 30°. Note the opposite nm tilt at disk edges compared to that in h–m, as highlighted by orange/blue colouring.
