Anisotropic cage evolution in quasi-two-dimensional colloidal fluids

We experimentally explore the morphological evolution of cages in quasi-two-dimensional suspensions of colloidal fluids, uncovering a complex dynamic restructuring in the fluid. Although cages display isotropic evolution in the laboratory frame, we observe a striking anisotropy when analyzed in the displacement frame of the caged particles. Moreover, our findings reveal that particles in specific but distinct regions of the cage predominantly contribute to either its persistence or relaxation. Thus, our study provides a coarse-grained microscopic picture of the structural relaxation of these fluids through cage evolution, which has broader implications for the flow and phase behavior of complex fluids in confined geometry.