# Phase Diagram of Traffic States in the Presence of Inhomogeneities

## Abstract

We present a phase diagram of the different kinds of congested traffic that are triggered by disturbances when passing ramps or other spatial inhomogeneities of a freeway. The simulation results obtained by the nonlocal, gas-kinetic-based traffic model are in good agreement with empirical findings. They allow to understand the observed transitions between free and various kinds of congested traffic, among them localized clusters, stop-and-go waves, and different types of “synchronized” traffic. We also give analytical conditions for the existence of these states which suggest that the phase diagram is universal for a class of different microscopic and macroscopic traffic models.

For some years now, the various observed nonlinear states of freeway traffic flow, including traffic jams and stop-and-go waves, have attracted the interest of a rapidly growing community of physicists . The same applies to simulation approaches that allow to reproduce the transitions between the different collective states of motion . A particular attention received the recent discovery of a first-order phase transition to “synchronized” congested traffic , which stimulated an intense investigation of the complex phenomena associated with ramps, yielding an explanation of the hysteretic phase transition . It is also known from other effectively one-dimensional many-body systems with short-range interactions that localized inhomogeneities can cause a variety of phenomena, including phase transitions  and spontaneous symmetry breaking .

To characterize the parameter-dependence of the possible states of a system resulting in the long run, phase diagrams are a very powerful method. They are of great importance in thermodynamics with various applications in metallurgy, chemistry, etc. Moreover, they allow to compare very different kinds of systems like equilibrium and nonequilibrium ones, or microscopic and macroscopic ones, whose equivalence cannot simply be shown by transformation to normal forms . Defining universality classes by mathematically equivalent phase diagrams, one can even classify so different systems as physical, chemical, biological and social ones, as done in systems theory.

In the following, we will present and explain the phase diagram that we obtained for the nonlocal, gas-kinetic-based traffic model , when we studied a freeway with a ramp in the presence of a single perturbation \[Fig. 1\]. By systematical variation of the inflow at the upstream freeway boundary and the ramp, we were able to reproduce the observed transitions between different traffic states, some of which have not been explained before. We will also present analytical conditions for the existence of the various traffic states. Since we are interested in the generic properties of the model, we will formulate it in dimensionless quantities  by measuring times in units of the relaxation time $`\tau 40`$ s, and distances in units of the inverse $`1/\rho _{\mathrm{max}}`$ of the maximum vehicle density $`\rho _{\mathrm{max}}140`$ vehicles/km. The equation for the vehicle density $`\rho (x,t)`$ at position $`x`$ and time $`t`$ is a continuity equation with a sink/source term and reads

$$\frac{\rho }{t}+\frac{(\rho V)}{x}=\frac{Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}(x,t)}{L_{\mathrm{rmp}}}.$$
(1)   
$`V`$ denotes the average vehicle velocity, $`L_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$ is the length of the ramp, $`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$ is the flow of vehicles entering the freeway ($`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}>0`$) or leaving it ($`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}<0`$) along the ramp of length $`L_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$, divided by the number $`n`$ of freeway lanes. The velocity equation contains a convection term (due to the movement of the velocity profile with velocity $`V`$), a pressure term (reflecting dispersion effects due to a finite velocity variance $`\theta `$), a relaxation term (describing an adaptation to a desired velocity $`V_0`$), and an interaction term (corresponding to braking maneuvers) :

$`{\displaystyle \frac{V}{t}}+V{\displaystyle \frac{V}{x}}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\rho }}{\displaystyle \frac{(\rho \theta )}{x}}+(V_0V)`$ (3)   
$`PA(\rho _\mathrm{a}){\displaystyle \frac{(\rho _\mathrm{a}V_\mathrm{a})^2}{(1\rho _\mathrm{a})^2}}B(\delta _V).`$   
$`V_0`$ has a meaning similar to the Reynolds number (since it allows for traffic instabilities when it exceeds the value $`V_\mathrm{c}=61`$). In addition, $`P`$ is a scaled cross section.

$$A(\rho )=0.171+0.417\{\mathrm{tanh}[10(\rho 0.27)]+1\}$$
(4)   
represents a structure factor, which is of order unity and determines the variance via the constitutive relation $`\theta =A(\rho )V^2`$, but also the form of the flow-density relation in equilibrium  (see Fig. 2). Finally,

$$B(\delta _V)=2\left[\delta _V\frac{\text{e}^{\delta _V^2/2}}{\sqrt{2\pi }}+(1+\delta _V^2)_{\mathrm{}}^{\delta _V}𝑑y\frac{\text{e}^{y^2/2}}{\sqrt{2\pi }}\right]$$
(5)   
with the dimensionless velocity difference $`\delta _V=(VV_\mathrm{a})/\sqrt{\theta +\theta _\mathrm{a}}`$ is a Boltzmann factor arising from the vehicle interactions. An index “a” indicates that the respective quantity is evaluated at the advanced “interaction point” $`x_\mathrm{a}=x+\gamma (1+TV)`$ rather than at the actual position $`x`$. The related nonlocality reflects the anticipative driver behavior and is essential for the realistic properties of the model and its robust and efficient numerical solution. $`\gamma `$ is an anticipation factor and $`T`$ about the safe time headway. In our simulations, we used the parameter values $`V_0=171`$, $`P=0.31`$, $`\gamma =1.2`$, and $`T=0.043`$, which are typical for Dutch freeways , but our results are not very sensitive to their particular choice.

The nonlocal, gas-kinetic-based traffic model reproduces the characteristic properties of traffic flows  formulated by Kerner and Rehborn . Furthermore, for a homogeneous freeway without ramps, it shows the phase (“instability”) diagram  that was postulated by Kerner and Konhäuser on the basis of macroscopic simulations : For a given density $`\rho `$, there exists a state of homogeneous traffic with equilibrium velocity $`V_\mathrm{e}(\rho )`$ and equilibrium flow $`Q_\mathrm{e}(\rho )=\rho V_\mathrm{e}(\rho )`$ (see Fig. 2), and there are four critical densities $`\rho _{\mathrm{c}i}`$. For densities $`\rho <\rho _{\mathrm{c1}}`$ and $`\rho >\rho _{\mathrm{c4}}`$, homogeneous traffic is stable with respect to localized perturbations, and for a range $`\rho _{\mathrm{c2}}<\rho <\rho _{\mathrm{c3}}`$ of intermediate densities, it is linearly unstable, giving rise to cascades of traffic jams (“stop-and-go traffic”). For the two density regimes $`\rho _{\mathrm{c1}}\rho \rho _{\mathrm{c2}}`$ and $`\rho _{\mathrm{c3}}\rho \rho _{\mathrm{c4}}`$ between the stable and the linearly unstable regions, it is metastable, i.e., it behaves nonlinearly unstable with respect to perturbations exceeding a certain critical amplitude, but otherwise stable. For the discussion of the phase diagram, an additional range $`\rho _{\mathrm{cv}}\rho \rho _{\mathrm{c3}}`$ of convective stability will be important, where homogeneous traffic is linearly unstable, but the growing perturbations are convected away from any fixed location .

We will denote by $`Q_{\mathrm{c}i}=Q_\mathrm{e}(\rho _{\mathrm{c}i})`$ the equilibrium flows corresponding to the critical densities introduced above. Moreover, there exists a characteristic outflow $`Q_{\mathrm{out}}`$ from traffic jams, stop-and-go waves, etc. , that is nearly independent of the surrounding density and the type of congested traffic, at least if there is no ramp. If traffic relaxes at the location of an on-ramp, the observed outflow is $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}(Q_{\mathrm{rmp}},L_{\mathrm{rmp}})Q_{\mathrm{out}}`$, but we find $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}Q_{\mathrm{out}}`$ for $`L_{\mathrm{rmp}}\mathrm{}`$ or $`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}0`$ . For our model parameters, we obtain $`\rho _{\mathrm{c1}}=0.11`$, $`\rho _{\mathrm{c2}}=0.12`$, $`\rho _{\mathrm{cv}}=0.34`$, $`\rho _{\mathrm{c3}}=0.36`$, and $`\rho _{\mathrm{c4}}=0.40`$, related to $`Q_{\mathrm{c1}}=16.2`$, $`Q_{\mathrm{c2}}=17.5`$, $`Q_{\mathrm{cv}}=14.6`$, $`Q_{\mathrm{c3}}=14.1`$, and $`Q_{\mathrm{c4}}=13.2`$. If $`L50`$, we obtain $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}Q_{\mathrm{c2}}`$, otherwise $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}`$ decreases with growing $`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$ and decreasing $`L_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$. For these values (which, with the exception of $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}`$, are determined from situations without ramps!), the equations for the phase boundaries suggested below agree quantitatively with the ones in the phase diagram in Fig. 1.

In our simulations, we investigated the congested traffic states that formed near an on-ramp when passed by a perturbation on the freeway (Fig. 3). For the perturbation we chose a fully developed density cluster that did not change its amplitude or shape anymore and travelled upstream with constant speed. When the density cluster reached the ramp, it induced different kinds of congested states (Figs. 1 through 3), depending on the inflows $`Q_{\mathrm{in}}`$ and $`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$ at the upstream boundary of the freeway and the ramp, respectively.

Now, we will explain the different states in the phase diagram starting with relatively high ramp flows. When traffic breaks down (a sufficient criterium for this is given by $`(Q_{\mathrm{out}}+Q_{\mathrm{rmp}})>Q_{\mathrm{max}}`$, where $`Q_{\mathrm{max}}`$ denotes the maximum of the equilibrium flow), we find the formation of a growing, extended region of congested traffic with average flow $`Q_{\mathrm{cong}}=(\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}Q_{\mathrm{rmp}})`$ in front of the downstream end of the on-ramp . Because of the fixed downstream end, any perturbation will be convected out of the congested region, if the homogeneous solution of density $`\rho _{\mathrm{cong}}`$ and flow $`Q_{\mathrm{cong}}=Q_\mathrm{e}(\rho _{\mathrm{cong}})`$ is convectively stable, i.e. if $`Q_{\mathrm{cong}}Q_{\mathrm{cv}}`$. In this case, we have homogeneous congested traffic (HCT) \[Fig. 3(a)\], which corresponds to an equilibrium solution on the high-density branch of the flow-density diagram \[Fig. 2(a)\]. Otherwise, oscillatory congested traffic (OCT) forms \[Figs. 3(b) and 2(b)\]. Thus, the boundary between HCT and OCT is given by

$$\text{HCT-OCT:}Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}=\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}Q_{\mathrm{cv}}.$$
(6)   
The oscillation amplitudes grow with decreasing ramp flow, until they reach the low-density part of the flow-density diagram associated with free traffic \[Fig. 2(c)\]. This means that we have an alternation between free and congested traffic which defines the state of triggered stop-and-go waves (TSG) \[Fig. 3(c)\]. It turns out, that TSG is characterized by $`Q_{\mathrm{TSG}}Q_{\mathrm{TSG}}^{\mathrm{min}}`$, where $`Q_{\mathrm{TSG}}`$ denotes the average flow of the TSG state. Hence, the boundary between TSG and OCT is given by

$$\text{OCT-TSG:}Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}=\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}Q_{\mathrm{TSG}}^{\mathrm{min}}.$$
(7)   
However, the precise value of $`Q_{\mathrm{TSG}}^{\mathrm{min}}`$ is hard to determine.

The minimal inflows to sustain the TSG states can be derived from the triggering mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3(c). When passing the ramp, the initial localized perturbation causes a secondary perturbation travelling downstream . Since the amplitude of this secondary perturbation is always small, regardless of the amplitude of the primary perturbation, it only grows on the instability condition $`Q_{\mathrm{down}}>Q_{\mathrm{c2}}`$, where $`Q_{\mathrm{down}}=(Q_{\mathrm{in}}+Q_{\mathrm{rmp}})`$ denotes the flow downstream of the ramp. With growing amplitude, the triggered perturbation changes its propagation speed, reverses its direction, and finally induces another small perturbation when passing the ramp, etc. In this way, the interplay of the perturbations with the ramp defines an intrinsic timescale and wavelength of the triggered stop-and-go waves. If the above instability condition is not fulfilled, instead of TSG we find a single moving localized cluster (MLC) \[Figs. 3(d) and 2(d)\], similar to the transition between stop-and-go waves and localized clusters in homogeneous traffic . The respective boundary is given by

$$\text{TSG-MLC:}Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}=Q_{\mathrm{c2}}Q_{\mathrm{in}}.$$
(8)   
The MLC continues the course of the initial perturbation which, however, changes its propagation speed at the ramp, probably because of $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}<Q_{\mathrm{out}}`$. If $`Q_{\mathrm{in}}<Q_{\mathrm{c1}}`$, the upstream flow cannot sustain localized clusters, since it is stable to perturbations, and the MLC becomes a pinned (standing) localized cluster (PLC \[or SLC\])  at the on-ramp \[Fig. 3(e)\]:

$$\text{MLC-PLC:}Q_{\mathrm{in}}=Q_{\mathrm{c1}}.$$
(9)   
A pinned localized cluster will grow and, thereby, give rise to a an extended form of congested traffic (CT), if the sum $`(Q_{\mathrm{in}}+Q_{\mathrm{rmp}})`$ of the inflows exceeds the self-organized outflow $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}`$ from CT behind ramps. The corresponding boundaries are given by

$$\text{PLC-CT:}Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}=\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}Q_{\mathrm{in}}.$$
(10)   
They are the same for HCT and OCT, so that there could be also stationary and oscillating variants of PLC (SPLC and OPLC).

Finally, no congested state can be formed, if $`Q_{\mathrm{down}}<Q_{\mathrm{c1}}`$, since traffic flow is stable to any perturbation, then. This defines the boundary between the pinned localized cluster state and free traffic (FT):

$$\text{PLC-FT:}Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}=Q_{\mathrm{c1}}Q_{\mathrm{in}}.$$
(11)   
Due to the metastability between $`\rho _{\mathrm{c1}}`$ and $`\rho _{\mathrm{c2}}`$, the transition to free traffic depends on the amplitude of the perturbation. For small perturbation amplitudes, stable traffic flow associated with free traffic expands up to $`Q_{\mathrm{down}}<Q_{\mathrm{c2}}`$. Hence, the MLC and PLC regimes may disappear in cases of small disturbances, leading to the boundaries FT-TSG, FT-OCT, and FT-HCT. In conclusion, the transition between free and congested traffic is of first order (i.e. hysteretic) , while the other transitions seem to be continuous.

Notice that the triple points A(TSG-MLC-PLC), B(OCT-TSG-PLC), and C(HCT-OCT-PLC) must each satisfy the conditions of two boundaries. In particular, points A and C are determined uniquely by dynamic properties on a homogeneous road without ramps or other inhomogeneities: $`Q_{\mathrm{in}}^A=Q_{\mathrm{c1}}`$, $`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}^A=Q_{\mathrm{c2}}Q_{\mathrm{c1}}`$, $`Q_{\mathrm{in}}^C=Q_{\mathrm{cv}}`$, and $`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}^C=\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}Q_{\mathrm{cv}}Q_{\mathrm{c2}}Q_{\mathrm{cv}}`$.

Summarizing our results, we have presented a phase diagram of traffic states developing close to an on-ramp when passed by a perturbation on the freeway. Similar results are found for disturbances on the ramp (not displayed). Moreover, the same phase diagram is expected for other kinds of inhomogeneities as caused by gradients, changes in the number of lanes, etc. In such cases, $`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$ corresponds to the capacity drop along the inhomogeneity. Despite of the complex behavior of the model, it was possible to determine the phase boundaries analytically and in good agreement with numerical investigations. As the analytical relations for the phase boundaries do not contain any details of the nonlocal, gas-kinetic traffic model used for the simulations, they are expected to be also valid for other microscopic and macroscopic traffic models which have (a) the same instability diagram or, more exactly, critical densities $`\rho _{\mathrm{c1}}`$, $`\rho _{\mathrm{c2}}`$, and $`\rho _{\mathrm{cv}}`$, and (b) a characteristic outflow $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}(Q_{\mathrm{rmp}},L_{\mathrm{rmp}})`$ that is independent of the type of congestion at the ramp. A sensitive dependence of $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}`$ on the surrounding traffic situation could lead to different results.

There is some evidence  that the homogeneous congested state can be identified with the observed synchronized traffic of type (i) according to the classification by Kerner and Rehborn , whereas synchronized traffic of types (ii) and (iii) probably corresponds to the oscillating congested state. Stop-and-go waves and localized clusters have also their empirical counterparts . Our findings suggest that inhomogeneities may be the generic reason for the formation of the different congested states . The dependence of the forming states on the inflows $`Q_{\mathrm{in}}`$ and $`Q_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$ allows to understand the observed transitions between localized clusters, stop-and-go waves, free and synchronized flow . It is also of importance for designing on-ramp controls. The dependence of the traffic states on the ramp length $`L_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$ (because of the dependence of $`\stackrel{~}{Q}_{\mathrm{out}}`$ on $`L_{\mathrm{rmp}}`$) is relevant for an optimal dimensioning of ramps and explains why the observable traffic states are dependent on the observation site.

The authors want to thank for financial support by the BMBF (research project SANDY, grant No. 13N7092) and by the DFG (Heisenberg scholarship He 2789/1-1).