Exact solutions produce a full picture of crack behavior in dynamic fracture.

Exact particle-level solutions reveal that tensile cracks can travel faster than shear wave speed, with stability influenced by dissipation and interface strength.

• Why it matters: Understanding crack behavior at a fundamental level is crucial for predicting and controlling fracture in materials, especially under dynamic conditions where traditional models are limited.
• What they did: The authors developed a catalog of 100,000 analytical crack solutions using dynamical models with varying dissipation and elastic properties, enabling a comprehensive analysis of crack stability and velocity limits.
• The result: Findings show that supersonic cracks are possible and stabilized by dissipation and weak interfaces, expanding the understanding of energy transport mechanisms beyond hyperelasticity and informing material design.