The linear response of two-dimensional amorphous elastic bodies to an external delta force is determined in analogy with recent experiments on granular aggregates. For the generated forces, stress, and displacement fields, we find strong relative fluctuations of order 1 close to the source, which, however, average out readily to the classical predictions of isotropic continuum elasticity. The stress fluctuations decay (essentially) exponentially with distance from the source. Only beyond a surprisingly large distance, $b\approx 30$ interatomic distances, self-averaging dominates, and the quenched disorder becomes irrelevant for the response of an individual configuration. We argue that this self-averaging length $b$ also sets the lower wavelength bound for the applicability of classical eigenfrequency calculations. Particular attention is paid to the displacements of the source, allowing a direct measurement of the local rigidity. The algebraic correlations of these displacements demonstrate the existence of domains of slightly different rigidity without, however, revealing a characteristic length scale, at least not for the system sizes we are able to probe.

• Received 26 October 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.70.014203