Integrated rupture mechanics for slow slip events and earthquakes

Abstract Slow slip events usually occur downdip of seismogenic zones in subduction megathrusts and crustal faults, with rupture speeds much slower than earthquakes. The empirical moment-duration scaling relation can help constrain the physical mechanism of slow slip events, yet it is still debated whether this scaling is linear or cubic and a fundamental model unifying slow slip events and earthquakes is still lacking. Here I present numerical simulations that show that slow slip events are regular earthquakes with negligible dynamic-wave effects. A continuum of rupture speeds, from arbitrarily-slow speeds up to the S-wave speed, is primarily controlled by the stress drop and a transition slip rate above which the fault friction transitions from rate-weakening behaviour to rate-strengthening behaviour. This continuum includes tsunami earthquakes, whose rupture speeds are about one-third of the S-wave speed. These numerical simulation results are predicted by the three-dimensional theory of dynamic fracture mechanics of elongated ruptures. This fundamental model unifies slow slip events and earthquakes, reconciles the observed moment-duration scaling relations, and opens new avenues for understanding earthquakes through investigations of the kinematics and dynamics of frequently occurring slow slip events.