Stochastic dynamics of a sheared granular medium

We experimentally investigate the response of a sheared granular medium in a Couette geometry. The apparatus exhibits the expected stick-slip motion and we probe it in the very intermittent regime resulting from low driving. Statistical analysis of the dynamic fluctuations reveals notable regularities. We observe a possible stability property for the torque distribution, reminiscent of the stability of Gaussian independent variables. In this case, however, the variables are correlated and the distribution is skewed. Moreover, the whole dynamical intermittent regime can be described with a simple stochastic model, finding good quantitative agreement with the experimental data. Interestingly, a similar model has been previously introduced in the study of magnetic domain wall motion, a source of Barkhausen noise. Our study suggests interesting connections between different complex phenomena and reveals some unexpected features that remain to be explained.