Self-Similar Traffic Originating in the Transport Layer
  We performed a network traffic simulation to clarify the mechanism producing self-similar traffic originating in the transport layer level. Self-similar behavior could be observed without assuming a long-tailed distribution of the input file size. By repeating simulations with modified TCP we found that the feedback mechanism from the network, such as packet transmission driven by acknowledgement packets, plays an essential role in explaining the self-similarity observed in the actual traffic. 
Kensuke Fukuda, Misako Takayasu, Hideki Takayasu