What Happens When Two Ruptures Collide?

We investigate the interaction between two rupture fronts as they propagate toward each other and ultimately collide. This phenomenon was observed during laboratory experiments conducted on poly methyl methacrylate. Subsequently, we used numerical simulations to elucidate key aspects of these observations and draw broader conclusions. Our findings indicate that the collision of the rupture fronts generates interface waves that propagate along the sliding interface at the Rayleigh wave speed. Additionally, the rupture fronts interact with the starting and stopping S-wave phases radiated by the opposite rupture fronts, which can locally change their velocity and generate additional interface waves. We discuss the implications of these results for understanding earthquake source phenomena.