Order and disorder in traffic and self-driven many-particle systems

Abstract

During the last decade, physicists have identified various spatio‐temporal patterns of motion in vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Moreover, by applying and extending methods from statistical physics and non‐linear dynamics, these have been successfully explained by means of self‐driven many‐particle models. Some of the questions now understood are the following: Why are vehicles sometimes stopped by so‐called “phantom traffic jams,” although they all like to drive fast? What are the mechanisms behind stop‐and‐go traffic? Why are there several different kinds of congestion, and how are they related? Why do most traffic jams occur considerably before the road capacity is reached? Can a temporary reduction of the traffic volume cause a lasting traffic jam? What is the origin of fluctuations in traffic systems and which consequences do they have? Why do pedestrians moving in opposite directions normally organize in lanes, while nervous crowds are “freezing by heating?” Why do panicking pedestrians produce dang...