Experimental observations consistent with Self Organized Criticality (SOC)
have been obtained in the electrostatic floating potential fluctuations of a dc
glow discharge plasma. Power spectrum exhibits a power law which is compatible
with the requirement for SOC systems. Also the estimated value of the Hurst
exponent (self similarity parameter), H being greater than 0.5, along with an
algebraic decay of the autocorrelation function, indicate the presence of
temporal long-range correlations, as may be expected from SOC dynamics. This
type of observations in our opinion has been reported for the first time in a
glow discharge system.Comment: Key Words: Glow discharge; Self Organized Criticality; Hurst
exponent; R/S technique; Power spectrum; Autocorrelation function;
Nongaussian probability distribution function. Phys Lett A (article in Press