In this work, we study the effect
of the deformation field on the
physical aging behavior of an aqueous Carbopol dispersion. It is composed
of soft swollen particles of gel that get deformed and acquire a polygonal
shape, with flat interfaces rendering the dispersion a soft solid-like
consistency as filled volume fraction approaches unity. It has been
proposed that owing to release of stored elastic energy in the deformed
particles, Carbopol dispersion undergoes microstructural evolution
that is reminiscent of physical aging in soft glassy materials. We
observe that application of moderate magnitude of oscillatory strain
to Carbopol dispersion slows down its relaxation dynamics, thereby
showing characteristics of overaging. On the other hand, the sufficiently
high magnitude of strain makes the relaxation dynamics faster, causing
rejuvenation. We also solve the soft glassy rheology model, which,
when subjected to the same flow field, corroborates with experimental
observations on the Carbopol dispersion. This behavior, therefore,
suggests that in a system of jammed soft particles of Carbopol, the
particles occupying shallow energy wells upon application of moderate
strain field adjust themselves in such a manner that they predominantly
occupy the deeper energy wells leading to observe the overaging dynamics.