Overview
- Addresses for the first time the subject of "Self-organized criticality" (SOC) in astrophysical systems
- Identifies self-organized criticality behaviour in many nonlinear dissipative systems in the universe
- Shows how the overall topic of natural complexity is becoming prevalent in many scientific disciplines
- Illustrates the relevance of SOC to such sciences as astrophysics, geophysics, biophysics and ecophysics
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books (PRAXIS)
Part of the book sub series: Astronomy and Planetary Sciences (ASTRONOMY)
Access this book
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
Table of contents (10 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
Markus Aschwanden introduces the concept of self-organized criticality (SOC) and shows that due to its universality and ubiquity it is a law of nature for which he derives the theoretical framework and specific physical models in this book. He begins by providing an overview of the many diverse phenomena in nature which may be attributed to SOC behaviour.
The author then introduces the classic lattice-based SOC models that may be explored using numerical computer simulations. These simulations require an in-depth knowledge of a wide range of mathematical techniques which the author introduces and describes in subsequent chapters. These include the statistics of random processes, time series analysis, time scale distributions, and waiting time distributions. Such mathematical techniques are needed to model and understand the power-law-like occurrence frequency distributions of SOC phenomena. Finally, the author discusses fractal geometry and scaling laws before looking at a range of physical SOC models which may be applicable in various aspects of astrophysics. Problems, solutions and a glossary will enhance the pedagogical usefulness of the book.
SOC has been receiving growing attention in the astrophysical and solar physics community. This book will be welcomed by students and researchers studying complex critical phenomena.
Reviews
From the reviews:
“The main aim of the present book is the derivation of the theoretical framework and specific physical models of SOC. … The present work contains an extensive list of well-chosen references for further reading. The textbook is intended to be an introduction to the relatively new subject of self-organized criticality (SOC), which is suitable for students and post-docs, as well as for researchers.” (Claudia-Veronika Meister, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1211, 2011)Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Self-Organized Criticality in Astrophysics
Book Subtitle: The Statistics of Nonlinear Processes in the Universe
Authors: Markus Aschwanden
Series Title: Springer Praxis Books
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15001-2
Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-642-15000-5Published: 11 January 2011
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-662-50606-6Published: 23 August 2016
eBook ISBN: 978-3-642-15001-2Published: 11 January 2011
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 416
Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology, Complex Systems, Geophysics/Geodesy, Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Exploration and Astronautics), Statistics for Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Statistical Physics and Dynamical Systems