  Rheological responses are the most relevant features to describe soft matter.
So far, such constitutive relations are still not well understood in terms of
small scale properties, although this knowledge would help the design of
synthetic and bio-materials. Here, we investigate, computational and
analytically, how mesoscopic-scale interactions influence the macroscopic
behavior of viscoelastic materials. We design a coarse-grained approach where
the local elastic and viscous contributions can be controlled. Applying
molecular dynamics simulations, we mimic real indentation assays. When elastic
forces are dominant, our model reproduces the hertzian behavior. However, when
friction increases, it restores the Standard Linear Solid model. We show how
the response parameters depend on the microscopic elastic and viscous
contributions. Moreover, our findings also suggest that the relaxation times,
obtained in relaxation and oscillatory experiments, obey a universal behavior
in viscoelastic materials.
