A phase transition induced by traffic lights on a single lane road

In this work, we study the effect of a traffic light system on the flow of a single lane road by proposing a traffic model based on a cellular automaton that also includes behavioral considerations. We focus on the macroscopic characterization of the system by studying the changes in vehicle density and the occurrence of jams. In this context, we observe and characterize a phase transition between the free flow and jammed states. This transition is induced by the instabilities originated by the vehicles stopping at the traffic lights. Moreover, we analyze the effect of these instabilities on the critical density of vehicles at which the transition occurs as a function of two parameters: (i) the in-flow of cars, (ii) the drivers’ behavior. For the latter we observe that the traffic light perturbations feedback on the drivers’ behavior can lead the system to different scenarios, which are also analyzed.Fil: Chacoma, Andrés Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Física Enrique Gaviola. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Física Enrique Gaviola; ArgentinaFil: Abramson, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; ArgentinaFil: Kuperman, Marcelo Nestor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentin