We have developed a modified Nagel–Schreckenberg cellular automata model for describing a conflicting vehicular traffic flow at the intersection of two streets. No traffic lights control the traffic flow. The approaching cars to the intersection yield to each other to avoid collision. Closed boundary condition is applied to the streets. Extensive Monte Carlo simulation is taken into account to find the model characteristics. In particular, we obtain the fundamental diagrams and show that the effect of the interaction of two streets can be regarded as a dynamic impurity located at the intersection point. Our results suggest that yielding mechanism gives rise to a high total flow throughout the intersection especially in the low density regime.

Abstract:The stochastic model of the Feynman-Smoluchowski ratchet is proposed and solved using generalization of the Fick-Jacobs theory. The theory fully captures nonlinear response of the ratchet to the difference of heat bath temperatures. The ratchet performance is discussed using the mean velocity, the average heat flow between the two heat reservoirs and the figure of merit, which quantifies energetic cost for attaining a certain mean velocity. Limits of the theory are tested comparing its predictions to numerics. We also demonstrate connection between the ratchet effect emerging in the model and rotations of the probability current and explain direction of the mean velocity using simple discrete analogue of the model.

We investigate a driven system of N one-dimensional coupled oscillators with identical masses. The first mass is connected to a sinusoidal driving force of frequency ω. In the steady state, when all the masses perform simple harmonic motion, we analytically obtain the dependence of their amplitudes on ω and show that there are resonance and anti-resonance frequencies. At an anti-resonance frequency, the amplitude of one of the masses becomes exactly zero. The mass directly connected to the driving force has the largest number of anti-resonance frequencies, N – 1. The phase of each mass's motion is either 0 or π with respect to the driving force. The case where damping forces are present is also considered, and the amplitude dependence on driving frequency is analytically obtained. In the presence of damping, there is no anti-resonance.

Abstract. We discuss two-dimensional diffusion of a Brownian particle confined to a periodic asymmetric channel with soft walls modeled by a parabolic potential. In the channel, the particle experiences different thermal noise intensities, or temperatures, in the transversal and longitudinal directions. The model is inspired by the famous Feynman's ratchet and pawl. Although the standard Fick-Jacobs approximation predicts correctly the effective diffusion coefficient, it absolutely fails to capture the ratchet effect. Deriving a correction, which breaks the local detailed balance with the transversal noise source, we obtain a correct mean velocity of the particle and a stationary probability density in the potential unit cell. The derived results are exact for small channel width. Yet, we check by exact numerical calculation that they qualitatively describe the ratchet effect observed for an arbitrary width of the channel.