2026-07-072026-07-07http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/21871We probe, using a model system, elastic and kinetic energies for sheared granular materials. For large enough $P/E_y$ (pressure/Young's modulus) and $P/ρv^2$ ($P/$kinetic energy density) elastic dominates kinetic energy, and energy fluctuations become primarily elastic in nature. This regime has likely been reached in recent experiments. We consider a generalization of the granular temperature, $T_g$, with both kinetic and elastic terms and that changes smoothly from one regime to the other. This $T_g$ is roughly consistent with a temperature adapted from equilibrium statistical mechanics.4 pages, 4 figuresSoft Condensed MatterStatistical Mechanicstext