NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Self-organized criticality in sandpiles - Nature of the critical phenomenonThe scaling behavior of sandpile models is investigated analytically. First, it is shown that sandpile models contain a set of domain walls, referred to as troughs, which bound regions that can experience avalanches. It is further shown that the dynamics of the troughs is governed by a simple set of rules involving birth, death, and coalescence events. A simple trough model is then introduced, and it is proved that the model has a phase transition with the density of the troughs as an order parameter and that, in the thermodynamic limit, the trough density goes to zero at the transition point. Finally, it is shown that the observed scaling behavior is a consequence of finite-size effects.
Document ID
19900060189
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Carlson, J. M.
(California, University Santa Barbara, United States)
Chayes, J. T.
(California Univ. Santa Barbara, CA, United States)
Swindle, G. H.
(California, University Los Angeles, United States)
Grannan, E. R.
(AT&T Bell Laboratories Murray Hill, NJ, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
August 15, 1990
Publication Information
Publication: Physical Review A
Volume: 42
ISSN: 1050-2947
Subject Category
Thermodynamics And Statistical Physics
Accession Number
90A47244
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF DMS-89-02152
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF PHY-82-17853
CONTRACT_GRANT: DE-FG03-84ER-45108
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF DMS-88-06552
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available