Colloidal particles steered by light weave the defect lines of a nematic liquid crystal into programmable crossings, according to research published in Nature Materials. The demonstration realizes non-Abelian braiding operations that researchers can watch, reorder, and compile directly in real space.
Physicists Uroš Tkalec and Simon Čopar published the peer-reviewed paper on September 10, 2026, categorizing the subject area under surfaces, interfaces, and thin films. Their findings show that light-directed colloidal particles manipulate defect lines into structured topological crossings, enabling tangible observation and reordering of non-Abelian braid structures in nematic liquid crystals.
Four institutional faculties across Slovenia supported the investigation. Affiliated departments include the Department of Condensed Matter Physics at the Jożef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana and the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Maribor. The University of Ljubljana contributed through both its Faculty of Medicine and its Faculty of Mathematics and Physics. The authors formally declared no competing interests.
Springer Nature listed the version of record on September 10, 2026, under the digital object identifier 10.1038/s41563-026-02741-0. Access to the full paper requires institutional credentials, a subscription, or a direct purchase. The publisher prices individual articles between $1.95 and $39.95 depending on article type, with local taxes calculated during checkout. Online subscriptions through Nature+ cost $32.99 for 30 days. An annual subscription providing 12 print issues and online access costs $259.00, equivalent to $21.58 per issue. The platform noted that a shareable link via the Springer Nature SharedIt initiative is not currently available for the article.
