Rigorous Construction of Stop-and-Go Waves in the Optimal Velocity Model via a Difference-Differential Equation

TL;DR

This paper rigorously constructs and proves the existence of stop-and-go traffic waves in the optimal velocity model using a difference-differential equation approach, providing a mathematical foundation for congestion phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a novel rigorous framework for constructing heteroclinic and homoclinic wave solutions in the OV model with steep functions, including periodic stop-and-go waves.

Findings

Existence of heteroclinic transition layer solutions connecting uniform states.

Existence of homoclinic solutions from interaction of transition layers.

Periodic solutions with large periods modeling stop-and-go waves.

Abstract

Nonlinear wave phenomena such as stop-and-go traffic patterns are widely observed in vehicular flow but remain challenging to describe within a rigorous mathematical framework. Motivated by this, we investigate nonlinear wave structures in the optimal velocity (OV) model, which is a fundamental microscopic traffic flow model describing the car-following dynamics on a circuit. Using a traveling-wave formulation for vehicle headways, we reduce the original ordinary differential system to a difference-differential equation. We focus on steep OV functions approaching a step function, which generate sharp transition layers in the headway profile. In the singular limit, we explicitly construct heteroclinic transition layer solutions connecting two uniform traffic states. Motivated by related solvable queueing models in the literature, we rigorously prove the existence of heteroclinic traveling waves for sufficiently steep OV functions. We further establish the existence of homoclinic solutions arising from the interaction of increasing and decreasing transition layers, and derive a necessary condition for the amplitude parameter for their existence. To construct periodic stop-and-go waves on a circuit, we impose a global constraint reflecting the conservation of the total road length. Within this constrained framework, we prove the existence of large-period periodic solutions comprising alternating transition layers and quasi-uniform states. Beyond local bifurcation analysis, these results establish a rigorous foundation for nonlinear congestion waves. Furthermore, they contribute to the validation of car-following models and the design of control strategies to mitigate congestion.