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25 Years of Self-organized Criticality: Concepts and Controversies

dc.contributor.authorWatkins, N.W.
dc.contributor.authorPruessner, G.
dc.contributor.authorChapman, S.C.
dc.contributor.authorCrosby, N.B.
dc.contributor.authorJensen, H.J.
dc.date2016
dc.date.accessioned2016-03-23T13:00:25Z
dc.date.available2016-03-23T13:00:25Z
dc.identifier.urihttps://orfeo.belnet.be/handle/internal/2684
dc.descriptionIntroduced 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. © 2015 The Author(s)
dc.languageeng
dc.title25 Years of Self-organized Criticality: Concepts and Controversies
dc.typeArticle
dc.subject.frascatiPhysical sciences
dc.audienceScientific
dc.subject.freeAluminum
dc.subject.freeCriticality (nuclear fission)
dc.subject.freeDynamical systems
dc.subject.freeElectromagnetic fields
dc.subject.freeMagnetosphere
dc.subject.freePlasma diagnostics
dc.subject.freeStatistical mechanics
dc.subject.freeComplexity science
dc.subject.freeCondensed matter
dc.subject.freeCondensed-matter theory
dc.subject.freeFusion plasmas
dc.subject.freePhysical systems
dc.subject.freeScientific Hypothesis
dc.subject.freeSelf-organized criticality
dc.subject.freeTheoretical physics
dc.subject.freeCondensed matter physics
dc.source.titleSpace Science Reviews
dc.source.volume198
dc.source.issue1-4
dc.source.page3-44
Orfeo.peerreviewedYes
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s11214-015-0155-x
dc.identifier.scopus2-s2.0-84930151390


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