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25 Years of Self-organized Criticality: Concepts and Controversies

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Title: 25 Years of Self-organized Criticality: Concepts and Controversies
Authors: Watkins, NW
Pruessner, G
Chapman, SC
Crosby, NB
Jensen, HJ
Item Type: Journal Article
Abstract: Introduced by the late Per Bak and his colleagues, self-organized criticality (SOC) has been one of the most stimulating concepts to come out of statistical mechanics and condensed matter theory in the last few decades, and has played a significant role in the development of complexity science. SOC, and more generally fractals and power laws, have attracted much comment, ranging from the very positive to the polemical. The other papers (Aschwanden et al. in Space Sci. Rev., 2014, this issue; McAteer et al. in Space Sci. Rev., 2015, this issue; Sharma et al. in Space Sci. Rev. 2015, in preparation) in this special issue showcase the considerable body of observations in solar, magnetospheric and fusion plasma inspired by the SOC idea, and expose the fertile role the new paradigm has played in approaches to modeling and understanding multiscale plasma instabilities. This very broad impact, and the necessary process of adapting a scientific hypothesis to the conditions of a given physical system, has meant that SOC as studied in these fields has sometimes differed significantly from the definition originally given by its creators. In Bak’s own field of theoretical physics there are significant observational and theoretical open questions, even 25 years on (Pruessner 2012). One aim of the present review is to address the dichotomy between the great reception SOC has received in some areas, and its shortcomings, as they became manifest in the controversies it triggered. Our article tries to clear up what we think are misunderstandings of SOC in fields more remote from its origins in statistical mechanics, condensed matter and dynamical systems by revisiting Bak, Tang and Wiesenfeld’s original papers.
Issue Date: 28-May-2015
Date of Acceptance: 4-May-2015
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/51489
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11214-015-0155-x
ISSN: 1572-9672
Publisher: Springer Verlag (Germany)
Start Page: 3
End Page: 44
Journal / Book Title: Space Science Reviews
Volume: 198
Issue: 1-4
Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Sponsor/Funder: Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Funder's Grant Number: EP/I019111/1
Keywords: Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Astronomy & Astrophysics
DYNAMIC CRITICAL PHENOMENA
HOSPITAL WAITING-LISTS
FOREST-FIRE MODEL
PHASE-TRANSITIONS
ABELIAN SANDPILE
POWER LAWS
1/F NOISE
2-DIMENSIONAL PERCOLATION
FREQUENCY-DISTRIBUTIONS
NONEQUILIBRIUM SYSTEMS
0201 Astronomical And Space Sciences
Publication Status: Published
Appears in Collections:Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics
Faculty of Natural Sciences