Organized versus self-organized criticality in the abelian sandpile model

We define stabilizability of an infinite volume height configuration and of a probability measure on height configurations. We show that for high enough densities, a probability measure cannot be stabilized. We also show that in some sense the thermodynamic limit of the uniform measures on the recurrent configurations of the abelian sandpile model (ASM) is a maximal element of the set of stabilizable measures. In that sense the self-organized critical behavior of the ASM can be understood in terms of an ordinary transition between stabilizable and non-stabilizable. Key-words: Self-organized criticality, abelian sandpile model, activated random walkers, stabilizability. AMS classification: 60K35 (primary), 60G60 (secondary)