Evidence of Non-Equilibrium Critical Phenomena in a Simple Model of Traffic

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Jha, Aryaman, Wiesenfeld, Kurt, Lee, Garyoung, Laval, Jorge
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Jha, Aryaman
Wiesenfeld, Kurt
Lee, Garyoung
Laval, Jorge
author_facet Jha, Aryaman
Wiesenfeld, Kurt
Lee, Garyoung
Laval, Jorge
contents We present a novel approach to understand vehicular traffic jams by studying a simple model, Elementary Cellular Automaton Rule 184 (ECA 184). Using key traffic observables, such as the total delay and relaxation time, as well as microscopic measures like delays and lifetimes of individual jams, we show how these quantities can fully characterize the system's behavior, revealing features analogous to those of a continuous phase transition. We exploit specific properties of ECA 184 to develop an efficient algorithm for calculating these observables numerically and introduce an auxiliary quantity, termed ''elementary jams'', which allows us to determine these observables. We discuss the implications of our results, highlighting connections to a potential field-theoretic description of traffic and suggest future application of these methods to more complex models. Supporting code can be found on: https://github.com/Aryaman-Jha/ECA_184_Critical
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_08417
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Evidence of Non-Equilibrium Critical Phenomena in a Simple Model of Traffic
Jha, Aryaman
Wiesenfeld, Kurt
Lee, Garyoung
Laval, Jorge
Statistical Mechanics
Cellular Automata and Lattice Gases
We present a novel approach to understand vehicular traffic jams by studying a simple model, Elementary Cellular Automaton Rule 184 (ECA 184). Using key traffic observables, such as the total delay and relaxation time, as well as microscopic measures like delays and lifetimes of individual jams, we show how these quantities can fully characterize the system's behavior, revealing features analogous to those of a continuous phase transition. We exploit specific properties of ECA 184 to develop an efficient algorithm for calculating these observables numerically and introduce an auxiliary quantity, termed ''elementary jams'', which allows us to determine these observables. We discuss the implications of our results, highlighting connections to a potential field-theoretic description of traffic and suggest future application of these methods to more complex models. Supporting code can be found on: https://github.com/Aryaman-Jha/ECA_184_Critical
title Evidence of Non-Equilibrium Critical Phenomena in a Simple Model of Traffic
topic Statistical Mechanics
Cellular Automata and Lattice Gases
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.08417