E-pile model of self-organized criticality

TL;DR

This paper introduces the e-pile model, combining percolation with dynamic interactions to naturally achieve self-organized criticality, applicable to various physical phenomena.

Contribution

It presents a novel e-pile model and formalism for electric conduction in random media that explains self-organized criticality without fine tuning.

Findings

Provides a mechanism for SOC via the e-pile model

Calculates critical exponents for the system

Applicable to electric discharges and Earth's magnetotail

Abstract

The concept of percolation is combined with a self-consistent treatment of the interaction between the dynamics on a lattice and the external drive. Such a treatment can provide a mechanism by which the system evolves to criticality without fine tuning, thus offering a route to self-organized criticality (SOC) which in many cases is more natural than the weak random drive combined with boundary loss/dissipation as used in standard sand-pile formulations. We introduce a new metaphor, the e-pile model, and a formalism for electric conduction in random media to compute critical exponents for such a system. Variations of the model apply to a number of other physical problems, such as electric plasma discharges, dielectric relaxation, and the dynamics of the Earth's magnetotail.