On a possible fractal relationship between the Hurst exponent and the nonextensive Gutenberg-Richter index

Abstract

In the present paper, we analyze the fractal structures in magnitude time series for a set of unprecedented sample extracted from the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) catalog corresponding to 12 Circum-Pacific subduction zones from Chile to Kermadec. For this end, we used the classical Rescaled Range ($R/S$) analysis for estimating the long-term persistence signature derived from scaling parameter so-called Hurst exponent, $H$. As a result, we measured the referred exponent and obtained all values of $H>0.5$, indicating that a long-term memory effect exists. The main contribution of our paper, we found a possible fractal relationship between $H$ and the $b_{s}(q)$-index which emerges from nonextensive Gutenberg-Richter law as a function of the asperity, i.e., we show that the values of $H$ can be associated with the mechanism which controls the abundance of magnitude and, therefore, the level of activity of earthquakes. Finally, we concluded that dynamics associated with fragment-asperity interactions can be emphasized as a self-affine fractal phenomenon.