The role of elastic anisotropy in active nematics

Abstract We analyse the effect of anisotropy in elastic constants on the hydrodynamics of active nematics. Building on the multipole framework for a single elastic constant, we determine the leading effect of elastic anisotropy on the active response of generic distortions. The key findings are a new active torque, proportional to the anisotropy, in response to monopole distortions, and modifications to the propulsion of dipoles in both the direction of motion and changes in speed of up to 50%. For point defects in two dimensions, we find that, despite the large morphological changes in the director field, elastic anisotropy has only a minor impact on their hydrodynamics, with the self-propulsion speed of +1/2 defects lowered by less than 5%. Finally, we determine the elastic torques exerted on defect pairs due to elastic anisotropy.