Abstract
We extend the mean-field calculation of BTW sand pile model to one that includes the correlation between pairs of nearest neighbors. Specifically, we derive dynamical equations of both one-site and two-site densities, and solve the equations order by order starting with the mean-field solution. The investigation provides analytical results for both stationary and dynamic states of the sand pile near the critical point, which are valid in the regime where h ≪ ε 2 ≪ 1 (h= incoming rate of sand grains, ε = bulk dissipation rate of sand grains). In the stationary case, we evaluate the pair correlation and the correction to the mean-field single-site densities due to the correlation. The correction is found to be of the same order as the mean-field solution. In the dynamic case, the initial state deviates from the stationary state by a small fluctuation, which subsequently decays exponentially, with the time constant being reduced from the corresponding mean-field value. Again, the correction to the time constant in this case is found comparable to the mean-field value itself. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.