Nonequilibrium and hysteresis in solids: Disentangling conditioning from nonlinear elasticity

Elastic hysteresis in solids is a complex matter which may affect a wide range of applications. As observed in rocks, it is the result of the interplay between nonlinear and nonequilibrium phenomena, such as conditioning, relaxation, and memory. Here we will propose a theoretical nondeterministic framework in which nonequilibrium effects are a natural consequence of the model. Experimental results will be shown to demonstrate that the separation of such effects is fundamental to extract truthful information on nonlinearity.