Abstract:
Measurements on real traffic have revealed the existence of metastable states with very high flow. Such states have not been observed in the Nagel-Schreckenberg (NaSch) model which is the basic cellular automaton for the description of traffic. Here we propose a simple generalization of the NaSch model by introducing a velocity-dependent randomization. We investigate a special case which belongs to the so-called slow-to-start rules. It is shown that this model exhibits metastable states, thus sheding some light on the prerequisites for the occurance of hysteresis effects in the flow-density relation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: 26 March 1998 / Accepted: 17 April 1998
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barlovic, R., Santen, L., Schadschneider, A. et al. Metastable states in cellular automata for traffic flow. Eur. Phys. J. B 5, 793–800 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510050504
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510050504