mystyletau — Custom Tau glyphs for topology

Authors: Antonello Meccariello & Francesco Meccariello Version: 2.0 (2026-04-05) License: LPPL 1.3c

Description

The mystyletau package provides two unique graphical variants of the Tau symbol: \vtau and \atau.

Technical Workflow

The custom symbols were first designed in Inkscape and saved as .svg files (now saved in the src directory). These vectors were then imported into the IcoMoon App (https://icomoon.io/app) to be converted into high-quality font glyphs and exported as the final mytautwo.ttf file.

Major update in v2.0: The symbols are no longer loaded as external PDF images. They are now implemented as true vector glyphs within a dedicated TrueType font (mytautwo.ttf). This allows the symbols to:

• Change color dynamically (compatible with xcolor).
• Scale perfectly in all math sizes (subscripts, superscripts).
• Support \ensuremath for use in both text and math mode.
• Feature custom kerning for mathematical subscripts (e.g., specific spacing for \vtau_X).

Requirements

• Engine: LuaLaTeX or XeLaTeX is required. This package will not work with pdfLaTeX because it relies on fontspec to load TrueType fonts.
• Packages: fontspec, amsmath.

Files included

• mystyletau.sty: The LaTeX package file.
• mytautwo.ttf: The TrueType font file containing the glyphs.
• mystyletau.pdf: Package documentation.
• mystyletau.tex: Documentation source.
• src/: Directory containing the original SVG source files for the glyphs.

Installation

1. Copy mystyletau.sty to .../texmf/tex/latex/mystyletau/
2. Copy mytautwo.ttf to .../texmf/fonts/truetype/public/mystyletau/
3. Update your filename database (run texhash and luaotfload-tool --update).

License

This work may be distributed and/or modified under the conditions of the LaTeX Project Public License, either version 1.3c of this license or (at your option) any later version.