title: Self-sustained nonlinear waves in traffic flow.
abstract: In analogy to gas-dynamical detonation waves, which consist of a shock with an attached exothermic reaction zone, we consider herein nonlinear traveling wave solutions to the hyperbolic ("inviscid") continuum traffic equations. Generic existence criteria are examined in the context of the Lax entropy conditions. Our analysis naturally precludes traveling wave solutions for which the shocks travel downstream more rapidly than individual vehicles. Consistent with recent experimental observations from a periodic roadway [Y. Sugiyama, N. J. Phys. 10, 033001 (2008)], our numerical calculations show that nonlinear traveling waves are attracting solutions, with the time evolution of the system converging toward a wave-dominated configuration. Theoretical principles are elucidated by considering examples of traffic flow on open and closed roadways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G8.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Kasimov
authors.forename: J-C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Nave
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Rosales
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Seibold