On a delay differential equation arising from a car-following model: wavefront solutions with constant-speed and their stability (Q2364737)

In this paper, a scalar delay differential equation \[ z''(t) = h^2V(z(t-1)-z(t))+hz'(t) \] is studied, where \(h>0\) is a constant parameter and \(V\) is a real non-negative smooth function representing the optimal velocity and satisfying certain requirements. This equation arises from a car-following model in a one lane straight road: let \(x_j(t)= z(-\frac{1}{h}t-j), t\in \mathbb{R}\), be the position of the \(j\)th car and it satisfies \(x_j''(t) = V(x_{j+1}(t)-x_j(t)) -x_j'(t), j\in\mathbb{Z}, t\in\mathbb{R}\). The existence and stability of linear solutions \(z(t)=ct+d, t\in\mathbb{R}\), for \(c, d\in\mathbb{R}\) are analysed. In the case \(c\not= 0\), such a solution of the differential equation forms a wavefront solution of the car-following model where all cars are uniformly spaced on the line and move with the same constant velocity. It is proved that all but one of these wavefront solutions are located on two branches by the parameter \(h\): solutions on one branch are unstable but some solutions on the other branch may be stable. This is a very interesting paper in mathematical modelling by differential equations.