Critical properties of a dissipative sandpile model on small-world networks

A dissipative sandpile model is constructed and studied on small-world networks (SWNs). SWNs are generated by adding extra links between two arbitrary sites of a two-dimensional square lattice with different shortcut densities ϕ. Three regimes are identified: regular lattice (RL) for ϕ≲2(-12), SWN for 2(-12)<ϕ<0.1, and random network (RN) for ϕ≥0.1. In the RL regime, the sandpile dynamics is characterized by the usual Bak, Tang, and Weisenfeld (BTW)-type correlated scaling, whereas in the RN regime it is characterized by mean-field scaling. On SWNs, both scaling behaviors are found to coexist. Small compact avalanches below a certain characteristic size s(c) are found to belong to the BTW universality class, whereas large, sparse avalanches above s(c) are found to belong to the mean-field universality class. A scaling theory for the coexistence of two scaling forms on a SWN is developed and numerically verified. Though finite-size scaling is not valid for the dissipative sandpile model on RLs or on SWNs, it is found to be valid on RNs for the same model. Finite-size scaling on RNs appears to be an outcome of super diffusive sand transport and uncorrelated toppling waves.