Abstract Slow earthquakes differ from regular earthquakes in their slower moment release and size distribution dominated by smaller events. However, the physical origin of these slow earthquake statistics remains controversial. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate that their characteristics emerge from low-friction soft granular shear. To model slow-earthquake fault materials under hydrothermal conditions, we use a low-friction soft hydrogel particle layer floating on lubricating fluid and conduct stick-slip experiments. The observed slip events follow the same laws of both moment release rate and size distribution as with slow earthquakes, contrasting with frictional rigid granular shear. Slip size is determined by the competing effects of shear localization and pressure enhancement with decreasing porosity. These findings indicate that low friction and particle softness in sheared granular systems with sparse contact structures cause slow earthquake statistics, which may be driven by pore fluid dynamics and shear localization within hazardous fault zones.
Sasaki et al. (2025) studied this question.