Congested Traffic States in Empirical Observations and Microscopic Simulations

We present data from several German freeways showing different kinds of congested traffic forming near road inhomogeneities, specifically lane closings, intersections, or uphill gradients. The states are localized or extended, homogeneous or oscillating. Combined states are observed as well, like the coexistence of moving localized clusters and clusters pinned at road inhomogeneities, or regions of oscillating congested traffic upstream of nearly homogeneous congested traffic. The experimental findings are consistent with a recently proposed theoretical phase diagram for traffic near on-ramps [D. Helbing, A. Hennecke, and M. Treiber, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 82}, 4360 (1999)]. We simulate these situations with a novel continuous microscopic single-lane model, the ``intelligent driver model'' (IDM), using the empirical boundary conditions. All observations, including the coexistence of states, are qualitatively reproduced by describing inhomogeneities with local variations of one model parameter. We show that the results of the microscopic model can be understood by formulating the theoretical phase diagram for bottlenecks in a more general way. In particular, a local drop of the road capacity induced by parameter variations has practically the same effect as an on-ramp.Comment: Now published in Phys. Rev. E. Minor changes suggested by a referee are incorporated; full bibliographic info added. For related work see http://www.mtreiber.de/ and http://www.helbing.org

Control of Spatial-Temporal Congested Traffic Patterns at Highway Bottlenecks

A microscopic theory of control of spatial-temporal congested traffic pattern at freeway bottlenecks is presented. Based on empirical spatial-temporal features of congested patterns at freeway bottlenecks which have recently been found, different control strategies for prevention or reducing of the patterns are simulated and compared. The studied control strategies include the on-ramp metering with feedback and automatic cruise control (ACC) vehicles. A recent microscopic traffic flow model within the author's three-phase traffic theory is used for validation of spatial-temporal congested pattern control.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

Phase Dynamics of Nearly Stationary Patterns in Activator-Inhibitor Systems

The slow dynamics of nearly stationary patterns in a FitzHugh-Nagumo model are studied using a phase dynamics approach. A Cross-Newell phase equation describing slow and weak modulations of periodic stationary solutions is derived. The derivation applies to the bistable, excitable, and the Turing unstable regimes. In the bistable case stability thresholds are obtained for the Eckhaus and the zigzag instabilities and for the transition to traveling waves. Neutral stability curves demonstrate the destabilization of stationary planar patterns at low wavenumbers to zigzag and traveling modes. Numerical solutions of the model system support the theoretical findings

Carboniferous and Permian Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) from West Spitsbergen

The rugosochonetid brachiopod species Lissochonetes geinitzianus from the Kazimovian of the Nordenskioldbreen Formation, and Dyoros (Dyoros) mucronata sp. nov., Dyoros (Dyoros) spitzbergianus and Lissochonetes superba from the Artinskian to latest Permian Kapp Starostin Formation in West Spitsbergen are described and figured. Dyoros is generally restricted to the Boreal Realm, whereas Lissochonetes is mostly distributed in the Boreal Realm, but occasionally present in the Palaeoequatorial and Gondwanan Realms<br /

Combination of searches for Higgs boson decays into a photon and a massless dark photon using pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A combination of searches for Higgs boson decays into a visible photon and a massless dark photon (H → γγd) is presented using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed (expected) 95% confidence level upper limit on the Standard Model Higgs boson decay branching ratio is determined to be B(H → γγd) < 1.3% (1.5)%. The search is also sensitive to higher-mass Higgs bosons decaying into the same final state. The observed (expected) 95% confidence level limit on the cross-section times branching ratio ranges from 16 fb (20 fb) for mH = 400 GeV to 1.0 fb (1.5 fb) for mH = 3 TeV. Results are also interpreted in the context of a minimal simplified model

Search for dark mesons decaying to top and bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for dark mesons originating from strongly-coupled, SU(2) dark favor symmetry conserving models and decaying gaugephobically to pure Standard Model final states containing top and bottom quarks is presented. The search targets fully hadronic final states and final states with exactly one electron or muon and multiple jets. The analyzed data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions collected at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess over the Standard Model background expectation is observed and the results are used to set the first direct constraints on this type of model. The two-dimensional signal space of dark pion masses mπD and dark rho-meson masses mρD is scanned. For mπD /mρD = 0.45, dark pions with masses mπD < 940 GeV are excluded at the 95% CL, while for mπD /mρD = 0.25 masses mπD < 740 GeV are excluded

Communist legacies, gender and the impact on job satisfaction in Central and Eastern Europe

This article studies potential legacy effects of a communist gender order, and in particular the impact on job satisfaction, in five Central and Eastern European labour markets. The empirical basis is derived from a sub-sample of the third wave of the European Values Study. There are substantial differences between male and female employees, some of which appear to reflect the persistent influence of a communist gender order, but several findings also highlight the importance of post-communist experiences. The evolving character of Central and Eastern European gender regimes requires a closer case-study approach to uncover the relationship with job satisfaction in further detail