Causality and Passivity in Elastodynamics

TL;DR

This paper investigates the fundamental constraints of causality and passivity on elastodynamic constitutive tensors, revealing conditions on their Fourier transforms that ensure physically realistic behavior across general and special cases.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of causality and passivity constraints on elastodynamic tensors, including non-diagonalizable and Willis-type relations, extending previous electromagnetism analogies.

Findings

Hermitian parts of Fourier transforms are positive semi-definite at all frequencies.

Non-hermitian parts divided by i are positive semi-definite for positive frequencies.

Results simplify to inequalities for diagonal and 1D problems.

Abstract

What are the constraints placed on the frequency dependent constitutive tensors of elastodynamics by the requirements that the linear elastodynamic system under consideration be both causal (effects succeed causes) and passive (system doesn't produce energy)? Compared to electromagnetism, elastodynamics is complicated by its generally non diagonalizable constitutive tensors. In this paper we clarify the constraints that causality and passivity place on very general forms of elastodynamic constitutive relations. Specifically we show that the satisfaction of passivity (and causality) directly requires that the hermitian parts, as defined later, of the Fourier transforms of the time derivatives of the elastodynamic constitutive tensors be positive semi-definite at all frequencies. Additionally, we show that the conditions subsequently require that the non-hermitian parts of the Fourier transforms of the constitutive tensors, when divided by the imaginary number $i$, be positive semi-definite for positive values of frequency and negative semi-definite for negative values of frequency. We show that when major symmetries are assumed these definiteness relations apply simply to the real and imaginary parts of the relevant tensors. For diagonal and one-dimensional problems, these positive semi-definiteness relationships reduce to simple inequality relations. Finally we extend the results to highly general constitutive relations which include the Willis inhomogeneous relations as a special case.