Passivity in linear viscoelasticity ($G^{\prime \prime }(\omega )\ge 0(\omega >0)$)

A passive viscoelasticity law cannot deliver net work in a periodic steady deformation without an external source of energy. With strain $ϵ={ϵ}_0\cos \omega t$ and stress $\sigma ={ϵ}_0(G^{\prime }\cos \omega t-G^{\prime \prime }\sin \omega t)$, the cycle-averaged supplied power is $⟨\sigma \dot{ϵ}⟩=\omega {ϵ}_0^2{G}^{\prime \prime }/2$. Thus a necessary passivity condition, using the convention $e^{i\omega t}$, is a nonnegative loss modulus at every positive frequency. Equivalently the work per cycle is $\pi {ϵ}_0^2{G}^{\prime \prime }$. A stable differential equation for stress does not by itself ensure this energetic condition.