Noise-induced transition to stop-and-go waves in single-file traffic rationalized by an analogy with Kapitza's inverted pendulum

2025/03/30 by Dufour, Oscar, Cordes, Jakob, Nicolas, Alexandre +3 · 1 citation
#FOS: Physical sciences #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph)

paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2503.23594

Abstract

Stop-and-go waves in vehicular traffic are commonly explained as a linear collective instability induced by e.g. response delays. We explore an alternative mechanism that more faithfully mirrors oscillation formation in dense single-file traffic. Stochastic noise plays a key role in this model; as it is increased, the base (uniform) flow abruptly switches to stop-and-go dynamics despite its unconditional linear stability. We elucidate the instability mechanism and rationalize it quantitatively by likening the system to a cyclically driven Kapitza pendulum.

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• Noise-induced stop-and-go traffic dynamics: Modelling and control

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