Laboratory observations of slow earthquakes and the spectrum of tectonic fault slip modes

Slow earthquakes represent an important conundrum in earthquake physics. While regular earthquakes are catastrophic events with rupture velocities governed by elastic wave speed, the processes that underlie slow fault slip phenomena, including recent discoveries of tremor, slow-slip and low-frequency earthquakes, are less understood. Theoretical models and sparse laboratory observations have provided insights, but the physics of slow fault rupture remain enigmatic. Here we report on laboratory observations that illuminate the mechanics of slow-slip phenomena. We show that a spectrum of slow-slip behaviours arises near the threshold between stable and unstable failure, and is governed by frictional dynamics via the interplay of fault frictional properties, effective normal stress and the elastic stiffness of the surrounding material. This generalizable frictional mechanism may act in concert with other hypothesized processes that damp dynamic ruptures, and is consistent with the broad range of geologic environments where slow earthquakes are observed

Mechanisms for slow strengthening in granular materials

Several mechanisms cause a granular material to strengthen over time at low applied stress. The strength is determined from the maximum frictional force F_max experienced by a shearing plate in contact with wet or dry granular material after the layer has been at rest for a waiting time \tau. The layer strength increases roughly logarithmically with \tau -only- if a shear stress is applied during the waiting time. The mechanisms of strengthening are investigated by sensitive displacement measurements and by imaging of particle motion in the shear zone. Granular matter can strengthen due to a slow shift in the particle arrangement under shear stress. Humidity also leads to strengthening, but is found not to be its sole cause. In addition to these time dependent effects, the static friction coefficient can also be increased by compaction of the granular material under some circumstances, and by cycling of the applied shear stress.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Time-Resolved Studies of Stick-Slip Friction in Sheared Granular Layers

Sensitive and fast force measurements are performed on sheared granular layers undergoing stick-slip motion, along with simultaneous imaging. A full study has been done for spherical particles with a +-20% size distribution. Stick-slip motion due to repetitive fluidization of the layer occurs for low driving velocities. Between major slip events, slight creep occurs that is variable from one event to the next. The effects of changing the stiffness k and velocity V of the driving system are studied in detail. The stick-slip motion is almost periodic for spherical particles over a wide range of parameters, but becomes irregular when k is large and V is relatively small. At larger V, the motion becomes smoother and is affected by the inertia of the upper plate bounding the layer. Measurements of the period T and amplitude A of the relative motion are presented as a function of V. At a critical value Vc, a transition to continuous sliding motion occurs that is discontinuous for k not too large. The time dependence of the instantaneous velocity of the upper plate and the frictional force produced by the granular layer are determined within individual slipping events. The force is a multi-valued function of the instantaneous velocity, with pronounced hysteresis and a sudden drop prior to resticking. Measurements of vertical displacement reveal a small dilation of the material (about one tenth of the mean particle size in a layer 20 particles deep) associated with each slip event. Finally, optical imaging reveals that localized microscopic rearrangements precede (and follow) each slip event. The behavior of smooth particles is contrasted with that of rough particles.Comment: 20, pages, 17 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Rheology of a confined granular material

We study the rheology of a granular material slowly driven in a confined geometry. The motion is characterized by a steady sliding with a resistance force increasing with the driving velocity and the surrounding relative humidity. For lower driving velocities a transition to stick-slip motion occurs, exhibiting a blocking enhancement whith decreasing velocity. We propose a model to explain this behavior pointing out the leading role of friction properties between the grains and the container's boundary.Comment: 9 pages, 3 .eps figures, submitted to PR

Rupture by damage accumulation in rocks

The deformation of rocks is associated with microcracks nucleation and propagation, i.e. damage. The accumulation of damage and its spatial localization lead to the creation of a macroscale discontinuity, so-called "fault" in geological terms, and to the failure of the material, i.e. a dramatic decrease of the mechanical properties as strength and modulus. The damage process can be studied both statically by direct observation of thin sections and dynamically by recording acoustic waves emitted by crack propagation (acoustic emission). Here we first review such observations concerning geological objects over scales ranging from the laboratory sample scale (dm) to seismically active faults (km), including cliffs and rock masses (Dm, hm). These observations reveal complex patterns in both space (fractal properties of damage structures as roughness and gouge), time (clustering, particular trends when the failure approaches) and energy domains (power-law distributions of energy release bursts). We use a numerical model based on progressive damage within an elastic interaction framework which allows us to simulate these observations. This study shows that the failure in rocks can be the result of damage accumulation

Search for baryon number violation in top quark decays

A search for baryon number violation (BNV) in top-quark decays is performed using pp collisions produced by the LHC at View the MathML source. The top-quark decay considered in this search results in one light lepton (muon or electron), two jets, but no neutrino in the final state. Data used for the analysis were collected by the CMS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 fb 121. The event selection is optimized for top quarks produced in pairs, with one undergoing the BNV decay and the other the standard model hadronic decay to three jets. No significant excess of events over the expected yield from standard model processes is observed. The upper limits at 95% confidence level on the branching fraction of the BNV top-quark decay are calculated to be 0.0016 and 0.0017 for the muon and the electron channels, respectively. Assuming lepton universality, an upper limit of 0.0015 results from the combination of the two channels. These limits are the first that have been obtained on a BNV process involving the top quark

Measurement of the t-channel single-top-quark production cross section and of the |Vtb| CKM matrix element in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

Measurements are presented of the t-channel single-top-quark production cross section in proton-proton collisions at s 1a = 8 TeV. The results are based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb 121 recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. The cross section is measured inclusively, as well as separately for top (t) and antitop (t\uaf), in final states with a muon or an electron. The measured inclusive t-channel cross section is \u3c3t-ch. = 83.6 \ub1 2.3 (stat.) \ub1 7.4 (syst.) pb. The single t and t\uaf cross sections are measured to be \u3c3t-ch.(t) = 53.8 \ub1 1.5 (stat.) \ub1 4.4 (syst.) pb and \u3c3t-ch.(t\uaf) = 27.6 \ub1 1.3 (stat.) \ub1 3.7 (syst.) pb, respectively. The measured ratio of cross sections is Rt-ch. = \u3c3t-ch.(t)/\u3c3t-ch.(t\uaf) = 1.95 \ub1 0.10 (stat.) \ub1 0.19 (syst.), in agreement with the standard model prediction. The modulus of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element Vtb is extracted and, in combination with a previous CMS result at s 1a = 7 TeV, a value |Vtb| = 0.998 \ub1 0.038 (exp.) \ub1 0.016 (theo.) is obtained

Search for the associated production of the Higgs boson with a top-quark pair

A search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a top-quark pair (tt\uafH) is presented, using data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 5.1 fb 121 and 19.7 fb 121 collected in pp collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV respectively. The search is based on the following signatures of the Higgs boson decay: H \u2192 hadrons, H \u2192 photons, and H \u2192 leptons. The results are characterized by an observed tt\uafH signal strength relative to the standard model cross section, \u3bc=\u3c3/\u3c3 SM,under the assumption that the Higgs boson decays as expected in the standard model. The best fit value is \u3bc = 2.8 \ub1 1.0 for a Higgs boson mass of 125.6 GeV

Observation of the diphoton decay of the Higgs boson and measurement of its properties

Observation of the diphoton decay mode of the recently discovered Higgs boson and measurement of some of its properties are reported. The analysis uses the entire dataset collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions during the 2011 and 2012 LHC running periods. The data samples correspond to integrated luminosities of 5.1fb-1at s 1a=7TeV and 19.7fb-1at 8TeV . A clear signal is observed in the diphoton channel at a mass close to 125GeV with a local significance of 5.7\u3c3, where a significance of 5.2\u3c3 is expected for the standard model Higgs boson. The mass is measured to be 124.70\ub10.34GeV=124.70\ub10.31(stat)\ub10.15(syst)GeV , and the best-fit signal strength relative to the standard model prediction is 1.14+0.26 120.23=1.14\ub10.21(stat)+0.09 120.05(syst)+0.13 120.09(theo). Additional measurements include the signal strength modifiers associated with different production mechanisms, and hypothesis tests between spin-0 and spin-2 models