Bethe lattice representation for sandpiles.

Avalanches in sandpiles are represented by a process of percolation in a Bethe lattice with a feedback mechanism. The results indicate that the frequency spectrum and probability distribution of avalanches provide a better resemblance to the experimental results than other models using cellular automata simulations. Apparent discrepancies between experiments performed by different authors are reconciled. Critical behavior is expressed here by the critical properties of percolation phenomena.