APS » PROLA » Phys. Rev. E » Volume 61 » Issue 6

Phys. Rev. E 61, R6052 - R6055 (2000)

Synchronized traffic flow from a modified Lighthill-Whitman model
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Paul Nelson *
Department of Computer Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3112

Rapid Communication Received 16 June 1999; revised 22 November 1999

A simple macroscopic argument leading to a diffusively corrected form of the classical kinematic-wave (Lighthill-Whitham) model of the flow of vehicular traffic is described. An example of a diffusively corrected kinematic-wave model displays a diffusion coefficient that is negative, for sufficiently large densities. It is shown that such a diffusively corrected kinematic-wave model is capable of reproducing elements of the synchronized flow reported by Kerner and Rehborn.


©2000 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRE/v61/pR6052
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.61.R6052
PACS: 47.20.Gv, 89.40.+k, 05.10.-a, 05.20.Dd

* Also affiliated with the Department of Nuclear Engineering and the Department of Mathematics.

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