Will jams get worse when slow cars move over?

dc.creatorSchmittmann, B.
dc.creatorKrometis, J.
dc.creatorZia, R. K. P.
dc.date2005-03-17
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T03:04:12Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T03:04:12Z
dc.descriptionMotivated by an analogy with traffic, we simulate two species of particles (`vehicles'), moving stochastically in opposite directions on a two-lane ring road. Each species prefers one lane over the other, controlled by a parameter $0 \leq b \leq 1$ such that $b=0$ corresponds to random lane choice and $b=1$ to perfect `laning'. We find that the system displays one large cluster (`jam') whose size increases with $b$, contrary to intuition. Even more remarkably, the lane `charge' (a measure for the number of particles in their preferred lane) exhibits a region of negative response: even though vehicles experience a stronger preference for the `right' lane, more of them find themselves in the `wrong' one! For $b$ very close to 1, a sharp transition restores a homogeneous state. Various characteristics of the system are computed analytically, in good agreement with simulation data.
dc.description7 pages, 3 figures; to appear in Europhysics Letters (2005)
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0503413
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0503413
dc.identifierEurophysics Letters 70, 299-305 (2005)
dc.identifierdoi:10.1209/epl/i2005-10006-6
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/26047
dc.subjectStatistical Mechanics
dc.subjectPhysics and Society
dc.titleWill jams get worse when slow cars move over?
dc.typetext

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