Relationship between High-frequency Radiation and Asperity Ruptures, Revealed by Hybrid Back-projection with a Non-planar Fault Model

High-frequency seismic waves are generated by abrupt changes of rupture velocity and slip-rate during an earthquake. Therefore, analysis of high-frequency waves is crucial to understanding the dynamic rupture process. Here, we developed a hybrid back-projection method that considers variations in focal mechanisms by introducing a non-planar fault model that reflects the subducting slab geometry. We applied it to teleseismic P-waveforms of the Mw 8.8 2010 Chile earthquake to estimate the spatiotemporal distribution of high-frequency (0.5–2.0 Hz) radiation. By comparing the result with the coseismic slip distribution obtained by waveform inversion, we found that strong high-frequency radiation can precede and may trigger a large asperity rupture. Moreover, in between the large slip events, high-frequency radiation of intermediate strength was concentrated along the rupture front. This distribution suggests that by bridging the two large slips, this intermediate-strength high-frequency radiation might play a key role in the interaction of the large slip events.