Linear Response Theory for Hard and Soft Glassy Materials

Despite qualitative differences in their underlying physics, both hard and soft glassy materials exhibit almost identical linear rheological behaviors. We show that these nearly universal properties emerge naturally in a shear-transformation-zone theory of amorphous plasticity, extended to include a broad distribution of internal thermal-activation barriers. The principal features of this barrier-height distribution are predicted by nonequilibrium, effective-temperature thermodynamics. Our theoretical loss modulus G ''(omega) has a peak at the alpha relaxation rate, and a power law decay of the form omega(-zeta) for higher frequencies, in quantitative agreement with experimental data.