Homogenization of a 1D pursuit law with delay and a counter-example

Abstract

In this paper, we consider a one dimensional pursuit law with delay which is derived from traffic flow modelling. It takes the form of an infinite system of first order coupled delayed equations. Each equation describes the motion of a driver who interacts with the preceding one, taking into account his reaction time. We derive a macroscopic model, namely a Hamilton-Jacobi equation, by a homogenization process for reaction times that are below an explicit threshold. The key idea is to show, that below this threshold, a strict comparison principle holds for the infinite system. In a second time, for well-chosen dynamics and higher reaction times, we show that there exist some microscopic pursuit laws that do not lead to the previous macroscopic model.