Raw data and software for 'Beyonfd linear response in colloids'

Colloidal suspensions offer huge potential to provide new insights into the fundamental behaviorof liquids both because the particles’ positions can be directly measured, and because their softnature provides the unique possibility to go beyond linear response by exposing the system tostrong fields. Here, we capitalize on this opportunity by directly measuring the response of a liquidto a strong spatially periodic external field in experiments, simulations and theoretical models.Strikingly, we observe a structural change in the direction perpendicular to the field variation, whichevolves sensitively with the applied field period, as locally favored structures of the unperturbedliquid are selectively enhanced. These results open new research directions: by imposing artificialdensity modulations it is possible to extract structural information that are inaccessible to scatteringexperiments.

胶体悬浮液（colloidal suspensions）为揭示液体的基本行为提供了巨大潜力：一方面可直接观测颗粒的空间位置，另一方面因其软物质特性，使得体系能够在强外场作用下突破线性响应的局限，这是其独有的优势。本研究正是利用这一契机，通过实验、数值模拟与理论分析三种手段，直接测量了液体对强空间周期性外场的响应。令人瞩目的是，我们观测到垂直于场变化方向的结构变化；随着外场周期的变化，该结构演化呈现出高度敏感性，这源于未受扰动液体中的局域偏好结构被选择性增强。本研究结果开辟了全新的研究方向：通过引入人工密度调制，我们能够获取散射实验无法触及的结构信息。