Coupled Map Traffic Flow Simulator Based on Optimal Velocity Functions

Abstract

A coupled map traffic flow model is introduced, based on optimal velocity functions. The model is simulated under open boundary conditions. Effects of noises in velocity are investigated. The average car density increases with the noise level. The high throughput flow is realized when the noise level is sufficiently large, and power law behavior appears in temporal spectra of density fluctuations at the same time. By introducing traffic bottlenecks, a hysteresis loop, which indicates the emergence of traffic jams, is observed in the headway-velocity plane. Temporal spectra of density fluctuations also obey a power law in this case, whose exponent is independent of the noise level.