Cooperativity in sandpiles: statistics of bridge geometries

Abstract

Bridges form dynamically in granular media as a result of spatiotemporal inhomogeneities. We classify bridges as linear and complex, and analyse their geometrical characteristics. In particular, we find that the length distribution of linear bridges is exponential. We then turn to the analysis of the orientational distribution of linear bridges and find that, in three dimensions, they are {\it vertically diffusive but horizontally superdiffusive}; thus, when they exist, long linear bridges form `domes'. Our results are in good accord with Monte Carlo simulations of bridge structure; we make predictions for quantities that are experimentally accessible, and suggest that bridges are very closely related to force chains.