Velocity dispersion due to anelasticity; implications for seismology and mantle composition

The concept of a relaxation spectrum is used to compute the absorption and dispersion of a linear anelastic solid. The Boltzmann after-effect equation is solved for a solid having a linear relationship between stress and strain and their first time derivatives, the ‘standard linear solid’, and having a distribution of relaxation times. The distribution function is chosen to give a nearly constant Q over the seismic frequency range. Both discrete and continuous relaxation spectra are considered. The resulting linear solid has a broad absorption band which can be interpreted in terms of a superposition of absorption peaks of individual relaxation mechanisms.