Effective medium theory for viscoelasticity of soft jammed solids

TL;DR

This paper develops an effective medium theory incorporating contact damping to explain the anomalous viscous loss observed in the viscoelastic behavior of soft jammed solids, linking microscopic damping effects to macroscopic properties.

Contribution

It introduces a microscopic effective medium theory that accounts for contact damping, explaining viscoelastic properties and viscous loss in soft jammed solids.

Findings

The theory matches experimental viscoelastic data.

Viscous loss is linked to marginal stability in amorphous systems.

Damping significantly influences soft jammed solids' behavior.

Abstract

The viscoelastic properties of soft jammed solids, such as foams, emulsions, and soft colloids, have been the subject of experiments, with particular interest in the anomalous viscous loss. However, a microscopic theory to explain these experimental results is still lacking. Here, we develop an effective medium theory that incorporates the effects of contact damping. The theory explains experimentally observed viscoelastic properties, particularly attributing the anomalous viscous loss to marginal stability in amorphous systems. This work establishes a microscopic theory for describing the impact of damping on soft jammed solids and their viscoelastic behaviors.