Numerical Determination of the Avalanche Exponents of the Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld Model

S. Lübeck, K. D. Usadel

Published 1997-02-06, updated 1997-05-17Version 2

We consider the Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld sandpile model on a two-dimensional square lattice of lattice sizes up to L=4096. A detailed analysis of the probability distribution of the size, area, duration and radius of the avalanches will be given. To increase the accuracy of the determination of the avalanche exponents we introduce a new method for analyzing the data which reduces the finite-size effects of the measurements. The exponents of the avalanche distributions differ slightly from previous measurements and estimates obtained from a renormalization group approach.