Stochastic sandpile model on small-world networks: scaling and crossover

TL;DR

This paper investigates a stochastic sandpile model on small-world networks, revealing multiple scaling regimes, crossover behaviors, and a transition from diffusive to super-diffusive transport as the network topology changes.

Contribution

It introduces a coexistence scaling theory for multiple scaling forms and characterizes the crossover from regular to random networks in sandpile dynamics.

Findings

Identification of three avalanche size regions with distinct scaling behaviors.

Demonstration of a crossover from diffusive to super-diffusive transport.

Violation of finite-size scaling in the small-world regime.

Abstract

A dissipative stochastic sandpile model is constructed on one and two dimensional small-world networks with different shortcut densities $\phi$ where $\phi=0$ and $1$ represent a regular lattice and a random network respectively. In the small-world regime ($2^{-12} \le \phi \le 0.1$), the critical behaviour of the model is explored studying different geometrical properties of the avalanches as a function of avalanche size $s$. For both the dimensions, three regions of $s$, separated by two crossover sizes $s_1$ and $s_2$ ($s_1<s_2$), are identified analyzing the scaling behaviour of average height and area of the toppling surface associated with an avalanche. It is found that avalanches of size $s<s_1$ are compact and follow Manna scaling on the regular lattice whereas the avalanches with size $s>s_1$ are sparse as they are on network and follow mean-field scaling. Coexistence of different scaling forms in the small-world regime leads to violation of usual finite-size scaling, in contrary to the fact that the model follows the same on the regular lattice as well as on the random network independently. Simultaneous appearance of multiple scaling forms are characterized by developing a coexistence scaling theory. As SWN evolves from regular lattice to random network, a crossover from diffusive to super-diffusive nature of sand transport is observed and scaling forms of such crossover is developed and verified.