Abrupt transition in a sandpile model

Abstract

We present a fixed energy sandpile (FES) model which, by increasing the initial energy,undergoes, at the level of individual configurations, a discontinuous transition.The model is obtained by modifying the toppling procedure in the BTW rules: the energy transfer from a toppling site takes place only to neighbouring sites with less energy (negative gradient constraint) and with a time ordering (asynchronous). The model is minimal in the sense that removing either of the two above mentioned constraints (negative gradient or time ordering) the abrupt transition goes over to a continuous transition as in the usual BTW case. Therefore the proposed model offers an unique possibility to explore at the microscopic level the basic mechanisms underlying discontinuous transitions.