Common dependence on stress for the statistics of granular avalanches and earthquakes

Abstract

The statistical properties of avalanches in a dissipative particulate system under slow shear are investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that the magnitude-frequency distribution obeys the Gutenberg-Richter law only in the proximity of a critical density and that the exponent is sensitive to the minute changes in density. It is also found that aftershocks occur in this system with a decay rate that follows the Modified Omori law. We show that the exponent of the magnitude-frequency distribution and the time constant of the Modified Omori law are decreasing functions of the shear stress. The dependences of these two parameters on shear stress coincide with recent seismological observations [D. Schorlemmer et al. Nature 437, 539 (2005); C. Narteau et al. Nature 462, 642 (2009)].