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# A realistic two-lane traffic model for highway traffic

## 1 Introduction

In  a cellular automaton model for traffic flow is proposed that is based on the Nagel and Schreckenberg (NaSch) model  and that is capable to reproduce all of the empirically observed traffic states , i.e., free flow, wide moving jams and especially synchronized traffic (see  for recent reviews on the modeling of traffic flow). Moreover, the accordance of the model with the empirics can be found even on a microscopic level of description. In  this degree of realism is underscored by considering a more realistic simulation setup, i.e., a simulation of a two-lane highway segment with an onramp. Empirical observations suggest  that lane changes are responsible for the occurrence of strong correlations of the velocity and flow measurements between neighboring lanes in the synchronized states and in wide moving jams. However, it was concluded  that lane changes do only select rather than generate traffic states.

Although the results of  do not depend on the special choice of the lane change update, the application of the model in more sophisticated topologies should be provided with realistic lane changing rules.

Much progress has been made in the simulation of large traffic networks like the inner-city of Duisburg , the Dallas/Forth-Worth area  and the highway network of North-Rhine-Westfalia . These simulations were based on the NaSch model and use a detailed representation of the systems infrastructure like multi-lane traffic, on- and offramps and highway intersections. However, a realistic microscopic description of the dynamics of each individual vehicle in a network requires to take into account the peculiarities of the complex road structures. It is therefore necessary to formulate simple rules in the language of cellular automata which mimic the behavior of the drivers as simple as possible and yield reasonable results compared with empirical findings. Unfortunately it turned out that the incorporation of two-lane traffic even in the NaSch model is a formidable task and the formulation of realistic lane changing rules is very difficult.

Only a few empirical results for two-lane traffic exist that help to specify lane changing rules . The ability to change lanes should increase with the density, shows a maximum in the vicinity of the flow maximum and then decreases with increasing density . Nevertheless, lane changes are still possible at large densities. A special feature of German highway traffic is the empirically observed lane usage inversion. Although there is a right lane preference, the distribution of the flow becomes asymmetric and the flow is larger on the left than on the right lane . In contrast, in urban traffic or on highways without the right lane constraints the traffic flow is evenly distributed on both lanes .

Several two-lane extensions  of the NaSch model were proposed which are able to reproduce the empirically observed lane usage inversion. However, they fail to model a realistic density dependence of the number of lane changes. Moreover, it was shown that some problems of the cellular automaton approach exist if one introduces different kinds of vehicles, but these shortcomings can be minimized by the consideration of anticipation effects .

Here, we extend the recently introduced traffic model  to two-lane traffic and answer the question which mechanism gives rise to the empirically observed lane usage inversion. It is clarified that this extension can be made without changing the basic realistic properties of the single-lane model. Moreover, it is demonstrated that lane changes do lead to strong correlations between neighboring lanes.

The simulations are (if not stated otherwise) performed on a highway of length $`50000`$ cells with periodic boundary conditions. In addition to the local measurements of  traffic data are also recorded by averaging over the whole highway segment. This allows, in particular, to observe lane changes which cannot be measured by local detectors. The averaging process, however, does not distinguish between the various traffic states on different parts of the highway .

In the next section we briefly summarize the definition of the single-lane model and present a simple two-lane extension. Because it is not possible to generate a lane usage inversion by the introduction of different kinds of cars, we present in section 3 an asymmetric lane changing rule set. In section 4 we show that the vehicle dynamics of the single-lane model is not influenced by the lane-changes, but the car dynamics is determined by the single-lane update rules only. The advantages of two-lane traffic in comparison to single-lane traffic become obvious in section 5. Finally, we conclude with section 6.

## 2 Symmetric model

Before we will present our lane changing rule set, we briefly define the single-lane model (see  for a detailed explanation). The model used here is based on the Nagel-Schreckenberg cellular automaton model for traffic flow . The road is divided into cells and a vehicle has a length of five cells. The movement of the vehicles is determined by a set of simple update rules and the system update is performed in parallel. The model of  is based on the desire of the drivers for smooth and comfortable driving whereas the dynamics of the NaSch model only assures the avoidance of crashes. This more sophisticated behavior is incorporated in a driving strategy which comprises three aspects: (i) At large distances the movement of a vehicle is determined by the maximum possible velocity. Vehicles at rest have a smaller acceleration capability than moving vehicles. Additionally, the velocity of the leading car is anticipated which allows for smaller gaps and larger velocities. (ii) At intermediate distances vehicles anticipate last minute braking by means of brake lights. (iii) At small distances the drivers adjust their velocity such that safe driving is possible.

Introducing the randomization function

$$p(v_n(t),b_{n+1}(t),t_h,t_s)=\{\begin{array}{cccc}p_b\hfill & & \mathrm{if}b_{n+1}=1\mathrm{and}t_h<t_s\hfill & \\ p_0\hfill & & \mathrm{if}v_n=0\mathrm{and}\mathrm{not}(b_{n+1}=1\mathrm{and}t_h<t_s)\hfill & \\ p_d\hfill & & \mathrm{in}\mathrm{all}\mathrm{other}\mathrm{cases}.\hfill & \end{array}$$

and the effective distance

$$d_n^{\mathrm{eff}}=d_n+\mathrm{max}(v_{\mathrm{anti}}gap_{\mathrm{safety}},0),$$

where $`d_n`$ is the gap of vehicle $`n`$, $`v_{\mathrm{anti}}=\mathrm{min}(d_{n+1},v_{n+1})`$ the expected velocity of the preceding vehicle in the next time step and $`gap_{\mathrm{safety}}`$ controls the effectiveness of the anticipation, the update rules consist of the following 5 steps (see table 1 for a summary of the parameters and variables of the model):

1. Determination of the randomization parameter $`p`$:
$`p=p(v_n(t),b_{n+1}(t),t_h,t_s)`$
$`b_n(t+1)=0`$
2. Acceleration:
if $`((b_{n+1}(t)=0)`$ and $`(b_n(t)=0))`$ or $`(t_ht_s)`$ then:
$`v_n(t+1)=\mathrm{min}(v_n(t)+1,v_{\mathrm{max}})`$
3. Braking rule:
$`v_n(t+1)=\mathrm{min}(d_n^{(\mathrm{eff})},v_n(t))`$
if $`(v_n(t+1)<v_n(t))`$ then: $`b_n(t+1)=1`$
4. Randomization and braking:
if $`(rand()<p)`$ then:
$`v_n(t+1)=\mathrm{max}(v_n(t+1)1,0)`$
if $`(p=p_b)`$ then: $`b_n(t+1)=1`$
5. Car motion:
$`x_n(t+1)=x_n(t)+v_n(t+1)`$

Step $`0`$ determines the value of the randomization parameter $`p`$ which depends on the status of the “brake light” $`b_n`$ (on/off) and the velocity $`v_n`$ of the $`n`$-th car (Cars are numbered in the driving direction, i.e., vehicle $`n+1`$ precedes vehicle $`n`$. In case of two-lane traffic this numbering is applied to each single lane separately. Thus, cars are relabeled after lane changes.). In the next three steps the velocity $`v_n`$ of vehicle $`n`$ is calculated. A car accelerates if its own brake light and that of the leading car is switched off. If the time-headway $`t_h`$ to the next car is large enough the car tries to approach the desired velocity in any case. The braking rule ensures safe driving – the velocity is adapted to the effective distance $`d_n^{(\mathrm{eff})}`$ to the leading vehicle. The effective distance is used instead of the real spatial distance $`d_n`$ to the leading vehicle. If the velocity is reduced the brake light is switched on. The next step introduces the stochastic element into the model, i.e., the velocity is reduced with probability $`p(v_n(t),b_{n+1},t_h,t_s)`$ as determined in step 0. Please note that the implementation also allows for the propagation of the brake lights. In the final step the positions of the vehicles are updated and the status of the brake light is reseted. The two times $`t_h=d_n/v_n(t)`$ and $`t_s=\mathrm{min}(v_n(t),h)`$, where $`h`$ determines the range of interaction with the brake light, are introduced to compare the time $`t_h`$ needed to reach the position of the leading vehicle with a velocity-dependent (temporal) interaction horizon $`t_s`$. Realistic behavior is observed for the model parameters $`v_{\mathrm{max}}=20`$, $`p_d=0.1`$, $`p_b=0.94`$, $`p_0=0.5`$, $`h=6`$, $`gap_{\mathrm{safety}}=7`$ which have been used in the simulations. The cell length is $`1.5m`$, a car has a length of $`5`$ cells . A time-step corresponds to $`1`$ s in reality. Note that no fine-tuning of the parameters is necessary and the model is quite robust against changes of the parameter values.

In order to extend the model to two-lane traffic one has to introduce lane-changing rules. A lane changing rule set should (i) consist of simple, local rules, (ii) be robust regarding slow vehicles, that is the flow should not be dominated by the introduction of a small fraction of slow vehicles, (iii) reproduce empirical lane changing curves, (iv) show the empirically observed lane usage inversion (in the asymmetric case) and (v) should not change the dynamical behavior of the single-lane system.

In general, lane changing rules can be symmetric or asymmetric with respect to the lanes or to the cars. While symmetric rules treat both lanes equally (see, e.g., urban traffic or highway traffic in the USA), asymmetric rule sets especially have to be applied for the simulation of German highways, where lane changes are dominated by a right lane preference and a right lane overtaking ban. Moreover, an asymmetry between, e.g., cars and trucks is provided on a two-lane highway since trucks are not allowed to change to the left lane.

In principle, all lane changing rule sets of cellular automaton models for traffic flow are formulated analogously . First, a vehicle needs an incentive to change a lane. Second, a lane change is only possible if some safety constraints are fulfilled. Asymmetry is introduced if one applies different criteria for the change from left to right and right to left.

A system update is performed in two sub-steps: In the first step the cars change the lanes according to the lane changing rules and do not move. In the second step, the cars move according to the calculated velocity. Both sub-steps are performed in parallel for all vehicles.

As a first step towards a realistic two-lane model for highway traffic we studied symmetric lane changing rules with identical rule sets for the change from the left to the right and the right to the left lane. The lane changing strategy comprises two aspects: First, the interaction of a vehicle with its predecessor on its lane should be minimized for safety or just for comfort reasons. Thus, a vehicle can optimize its travel time by driving as fast as possible due to an optimal gap usage. In order to keep the model as simple as possible we restrict the lane interaction to vehicles which have to brake in the next time step due to an insufficient gap in front. Vehicles which had to brake (i.e., their brake light is activated) are not allowed to change the lane. Second, safety reasons or constraints by law require the minimization of the interaction of a changing vehicle with its predecessor as well as with its successor on the destination lane. Thus, a vehicle is allowed to change the lane only if the gap between successor and predecessor on the destination lane is sufficient. In order to increase the efficiency of the lane changes, the movement of the preceding vehicle on the destination lane is anticipated.

The lane changing rules then are as follows:

1. Incentive criterion:

$$(b_n=0)and(v(t)>d)$$
2. Safety criterion:

$$(d_{\mathrm{pred}}^{(\mathrm{eff})}v(t))and(d_{\mathrm{succ}}v_{\mathrm{succ}})$$

$`v(t)`$ and $`d`$ are the velocity and the gap of the vehicle, $`d_{\mathrm{succ}}`$ and $`v_{\mathrm{succ}}`$ are the gap to the succeeding vehicle on the destination lane and its velocity, respectively. $`d_{\mathrm{pred}}`$ denotes the gap and $`d_{\mathrm{pred}}^{(\mathrm{eff})}=d_{\mathrm{pred}}+\mathrm{max}(v^{(\mathrm{anti})}gap_{\mathrm{safety}},0)`$ denotes the effective gap to the preceding vehicle on the destination lane (where $`v^{(\mathrm{anti})}=\mathrm{min}(gap,v_{\mathrm{pred}})`$ is the expected velocity of the leading vehicle on the destination lane in the next time step and $`gap`$ and $`v_{\mathrm{pred}}`$ is the gap and the velocity of the predecessor on the destination lane) (see Fig. 1). The effectiveness of the anticipation is controlled by the parameter $`gap_{\mathrm{safety}}`$. Accidents are avoided only if the constraint $`gap_{\mathrm{safety}}1`$ is fulfilled. The same value for $`gap_{\mathrm{safety}}`$ as in the single-lane model is applied.

The symmetry of the lane changing update rules is reflected in the fundamental diagram111Note, that the kink in the fundamental diagram is an artifact of the global measurement process: since it is not distinguished between the various traffic states on different highway sections, one simply averages over free flow and synchronized states. (Fig. 2): both lanes show the same flow density relationship, especially they have the same maximum flow $`J_{\mathrm{max}}`$ at the same density $`\rho _{\mathrm{max}}`$. Nevertheless, there is a strong exchange of vehicles between the lanes. Although the empirical lane change curve  was taken from measurements on German highways where asymmetric rules have to be applied, it is quite well reproduced on a qualitative level by simulations of the symmetric model while on a quantitative level the number of lane changes is too large (Fig. 3). A detailed analysis reveals that at small densities about $`50\%`$ of the lane changes are ping-pong changes . Since anticipation is only applied in step $`2`$ of the lane changing update, once a vehicle with an effective gap changed the lane the condition $`v>d`$ of step $`1`$ is always fulfilled. As a consequence, the vehicle changes the lane again.

If we drop the single-lane model extensions (slow-to-start rule, anticipation, brake lights) successively, the lane change curve changes drastically (Fig. 4). The original NaSch model as well as the NaSch model with velocity-dependent randomization where a slow-to-start rule is applied (VDR-model ) show a maximum of the lane change number at large densities, but not at $`\rho _{\mathrm{max}}`$ . Additionally, the number of lane changes is reduced considerably compared to the full model (Fig. 3). However, the introduction of brake lights or anticipation shifts the maximum of the curve to $`\rho _{\mathrm{max}}`$. On one hand, anticipation increases the effectiveness of the lane changes because the gap acceptance is increased. Moreover, since platoons of vehicles with a gap smaller than the velocity exist, the first lane change rule is often fulfilled leading to an artificial enhancement of the lane changing probability. On the other hand, brake lights visualize breakdowns of the downstream traffic timely, so that vehicles are able to swerve to the other lane in order to avoid abrupt brakings. Thus, from a microscopic point of view only the introduction of brake lights is responsible for the realistic lane changing behavior.

The symmetry of the lane changing rules is responsible for the even distribution of the density on both lanes. In contrast, lane usage inversion was observed on German highways where the left lane is designated as the passing lane and the lane changing behavior is determined by the right lane preference and the right lane overtaking ban.

In order to implement an artificial asymmetry we introduced disorder by considering different types of vehicles like cars and trucks. Unfortunately, the introduction of disorder in cellular automaton models for two-lane traffic has some shortcomings: it is possible that two slow vehicles driving side by side on different lanes can form a plug which blocks the succeeding traffic . These plugs are very stable in the free flow regime and their dissolution is determined by velocity fluctuations. As a result, the lifetime of the plugs is very large and the flow is dominated by the slowest vehicle. In the NaSch model without anticipation, even one slow car can dominate the flow. Anticipation reduces the formation of plugs considerably , but they still seem to be slightly overestimated by the model. To avoid the formation of plugs all trucks are therefore initialized on the right lane only, and are not allowed to change the lane.

Suppose that $`10\%`$ of the vehicles are trucks with $`v_{\mathrm{max}}^{\mathrm{trucks}}=15=81km/h`$. As a result of the asymmetric vehicle distribution the flow on the right lane is dominated by trucks, while the flow on the left lane is comparable to the flow of the homogeneous model (Fig. 5). Obviously, the introduction of trucks does not allow the reproduction of the lane usage inversion (Fig. 6): The flow on the left lane is larger than on the right lane for all densities since fast vehicles avoid to drive on the right lane.

However, since one value of the total flow can be related to either free flow or congested traffic, the lane-usage is not a unique function of the total flow. In contrast, the lane usage depending on the density gives unique results in the whole density regime. Therefore, the lane usage curve described by the density is used in the further analysis since, as an advantage, density can be calculated explicitly in the simulations. Moreover, a comparison of both methods shows that the lane usage inversion point has the same flow-density value.

Due to the trucks on the right lane, at small densities nearly all fast cars are on the left lane. With increasing density the velocity differences between the cars and the trucks decrease so that both lanes are evenly occupied (Fig. 6). In contrast to the empirically observed lane usage inversion, neither most of the cars are on the right lane at small densities, nor most of the cars are on the left lane at large densities. In order to obtain the lane usage inversion, it is therefore necessary to incorporate an asymmetry into the lane changing rules 222Note, that the lane usage inversion can be traced back to an asymmetric distribution of the density on the lanes but not to a negative velocity gradient from the left to the right lane that leads to larger flows on the left lane. Different speed limits for the lanes increase the inversion but are not its reason, since lane usage inversion can also be observed on highways with speed limit..

On German highways two mechanisms lead to an asymmetry between the lanes:

1. The right lane preference is enforced by the legal regulation to use the right lane as often as possible.
2. The right lane overtaking ban prohibits a car driving on the right lane to overtake a car which is driving on the left lane.

In order to clarify which of these two mechanisms is responsible for the lane usage inversion, we first focus on the right lane overtaking ban. Therefore, lane changes to the left lane are forced in the sense that a car on the right lane has to change to the left lane in case of a velocity larger than its gap to the predecessor on the destination lane. In addition to that, the safety criterion is weakened, so that cars even with $`v>d_{\mathrm{pred}}^{(\mathrm{eff})}`$ are allowed to change the lane. However, the overtaking ban is not formulated in a strict sense since vehicles are allowed to overtake a car driving on the left lane if a lane change is not possible. As a result, most of the cars are on the left lane for all densities. With increasing density this difference of the lane usage decreases, but nevertheless it is not possible to observe a lane usage inversion.

Second, we focus on the right lane preference and force changes from left to right. Obviously, the right lane preference alone is not sufficient for the correct description of the lane usage inversion, because cars now are predominantly on the right rather than on the left lane.

To summarize, neither it is possible to get a lane usage inversion by implementing disorder in the symmetric model, like different types of cars, nor by introducing either the right lane preference or the right lane overtaking ban alone. One therefore has to introduce the right lane preference and the right lane overtaking ban simultaneously.

## 3 Asymmetric model

The straightforward implementation of the right lane overtaking ban of the preceding section leads to large lane changing frequencies. Furthermore, a stricter formulation of the right lane overtaking ban may lead to difficulties with regard to velocity anticipation or to the update procedure. For the sake of simplicity, however, the consequences of a right lane overtaking ban rather than the basic mechanisms are modeled. Vehicles are still allowed to overtake their predecessor on the left lane but the left lane should be preferred. Therefore, we reduced the ability to change from the left to the right lane  so that vehicles on the left lane change back to the right lane only if there is a sufficient gap on both, the right and the left lane. The lane change rules are then as follows:

|  | right $``$ left |
| --- | --- |
| Incentive criterion: | $`(b_n=0)and`$ |
|  | $`(v(t)>d)`$ |
| Safety criterion: | $`(d_{\mathrm{pred}}^{(\mathrm{eff})}v(t))and(d_{\mathrm{succ}}v_{\mathrm{succ}})`$ |

|  | left $``$ right |
| --- | --- |
| Incentive criterion: | $`(b_n=0)and`$ |
|  | $`(t_{\mathrm{pred}}^h>3.0)and((t^h>6.0)or(v>gap))`$ |
| Safety criterion: | $`(d_{\mathrm{pred}}^{(\mathrm{eff})}v(t))and(d_{\mathrm{succ}}v_{\mathrm{succ}})`$ |

The two times $`t^h=d/v`$ and $`t_{\mathrm{pred}}^h=d_{\mathrm{pred}}/v`$ give the time a vehicle needs to reach the position of its predecessor and its predecessor on the destination lane. Since the time-headways take the velocity of the vehicles into account, slow vehicles are allowed to change the lane even at small distances 333Instead of comparing time-headways it is possible to use the vehicles gap reduced by a constant offset in the incentive criterion (e.g, $`v<gapoffset`$) in order to retard the change from the left to the right lane. Unfortunately, this has major drawbacks since for larger densities this condition is never be fulfilled ..

With the two parameters $`t_{\mathrm{pred}}^h`$ and $`t^h`$ it is possible to trigger the lane usage inversion. If the movement of a vehicle is undisturbed (at small densities) it changes the lane if its time-headway to the preceding vehicle on its own and on the destination lane is larger than $`6s`$ and $`3s`$, respectively. Otherwise, at large densities the condition $`v>d`$ ensures an incentive to change to the right lane.

Figure 7 illustrates the asymmetry of the lane changing rules with the fundamental diagram: at small densities, the flow on the left lane is larger than on the right lane. As a consequence, the flow breakdown occurs first on the left lane. Once the maximum flow on the left lane is reached more and more cars swerve on the right lane until the flow is distributed evenly on both lanes. Therefore, the system breakdown is mainly triggered by a single-lane breakdown on the left lane . However, the mean velocity on the right lane starts to decrease before the breakdown on the left lane occurs, so that the velocity is always larger on the left rather than on the right lane. Thus, the system separates into a fast and a slow lane.

The two competing mechanisms of the lane changing rules, namely the right lane overtaking ban and the right lane preference, lead to a lane usage inversion (Fig. 8). At small densities the right lane preference dominates so that most of the vehicles are driving on the right lane. However, as a consequence of the right lane overtaking ban, with increasing density more vehicles avoid driving on the right lane. The position of the inversion point is mainly controlled by $`t^h`$ while the extent of the lane usage inversion is controlled by $`t_{\mathrm{pred}}^h`$. With increasing total density the lane usage inversion decreases (Fig. 8).

Due to the retarded lane change from left to right the number of lane changes is decreased significantly compared to the symmetric model. Like in the symmetric model, the maximum of lane changes is reached in the vicinity of the maximum flow. Further increasing the density the lane change number drops to a plateau value until lane changes are no longer possible at very large densities (Fig. 9). In contrast to the symmetric model, the ping-pong changes are strongly suppressed due to the asymmetric rule set.

Next, we consider an inhomogeneous model with $`10\%`$ trucks. In contrast to the symmetric model trucks are now allowed to change from the right to the left lane. In Fig. 10 the distribution of the trucks on both lanes is depicted. Although at small densities considerably more trucks are on the right than on the left lane, the trucks do not condensate completely on the right lane. Therefore, the flow is dominated by trucks on both lanes even for small densities and a small fractions of trucks. As a result of the lane usage inversion and a small number of trucks on the left lane, vehicles can go faster on the right rather than on the left lane. However, at densities larger than $`\rho _{\mathrm{max}}`$ the maximum velocity of the vehicles are smaller than the mean velocity so that the trucks are evenly distributed on both lanes.

The stability of the plugs is mainly determined by velocity fluctuations since the distance between two trucks driving side by side in free flow can only be increased by a repeated deceleration of one truck in the randomization step of the velocity update. We therefore distributed the maximum velocity of the cars $`v_{\mathrm{max}}`$ according to a Gaussian profile with different variances and a mean $`\overline{v}_{\mathrm{max}}=20`$. Despite the possibility that now small differences of the maximum velocity of the trucks are allowed, the plugs remain still very robust. Even different Gaussian distributions of the maximum velocities of cars and trucks or special lane changing rules for trucks do not decrease the stability of the plugs. Plugs are therefore no artifact of the discretization but are formed by the dynamics. Because of the asymmetry of the lane changing rules, once a truck changed to the left lane, there has to be a large gap in front on the left and on the right lane to change back. This increases the time trucks are on the left lane and supports the formation of plugs. In contrast to the symmetric model, even one truck on the left lane is able to dominate the flow of the left lane completely. As long as the truck stays on the left lane passing is not possible: due to the right lane overtaking ban, like in reality, the fast cars pile up behind the truck waiting for a possibility to pass.

In order to avoid the formation of plugs we reintroduce the lane changing ban for the trucks, so that the trucks now are lane stationary on the right lane. Like in the symmetric model, the flow of the right lane is dominated by trucks only in the vicinity of $`\rho _{\mathrm{max}}`$ (Fig. 11) which is a consequence of the increased robustness of the model regarding slow vehicles. As a result of the moving hindrances on the right lane, the number of lane changes is increased compared to the homogeneous model (Fig. 12). Now, lane changes are necessary even at very small densities to avoid being trapped behind a truck. Therefore, the lane usage inversion is increased significantly in the vicinity of $`\rho _{\mathrm{max}}`$ (Fig. 13).

Like in the homogeneous model the traffic breakdown is mainly controlled by the capacity of the left lane (Fig. 14). At small densities the flow on the left lane is larger than on the right lane since the density is distributed asymmetrically. Further increasing the density shifts the excess flow on the right lane up to its capacity. At large densities more vehicles are on the left than on the right lane because of the lane usage inversion, which results in a larger flow on the right lane.

## 4 Local measurements

In the last sections we focused our analysis on two-lane properties induced by lane changing maneuvers like the number of lane changes, the flow enhancement and the lane usage inversion. It turned out that it is possible to produce a realistic lane changing behavior which can reproduce empirical data already by means of a simple asymmetric rule set. Nevertheless, it is an open question whether the vehicle dynamics of the single-lane model is modified by the introduction of lane changing rules.

In order to compare the two-lane model with the corresponding single-lane model, we evaluated the simulation data by a virtual inductive loop, i.e., we measured the speed and the time-headway of the vehicles at a given link of the lattice. The density is calculated via the relation $`\rho =J/v`$ where $`J`$ and $`v`$ are the mean flow and the mean velocity of cars passing the detector in a time interval of $`1`$ min. In addition to the aggregated data, the single-vehicle data of each car passing the detector are also analyzed.

A detailed analysis of the locally measured data of the homogeneous model shows no difference of the two-lane model to the single-lane model on a macroscopic (i.e., data averaged over an interval of $`1`$ min) as well as on a microscopic (i.e., single-vehicle data) level in the congested regime. Moreover, there is no difference of the locally measured data between the two-lanes in the congested regime. In contrast, in the free flow regime the time-headway distribution of the left lane shows an increased number of small headways compared to the right lane. The lane usage inversion at small densities increases the car-car interactions on the left lane which leads to clusters of cars with small gaps and large velocities. In the inhomogeneous model the inclusion of disorder dissolves these clusters so that the difference between the time-headway distributions to the single-lane model vanishes again. Moreover, trucks on the right lane reduce the mean velocity in the free flow regime and shift the velocity-headway curve to smaller velocities at small distances compared to the left lane. Nevertheless, these results show, that the vehicle dynamics is not influenced by the lane changing rules but by the traffic state 444A detailed analysis of the single-lane model reveals the independence of the vehicle dynamics in the congested regime even on the maximum velocity..

Empirical observations suggest a strong coupling of the lanes in the synchronized state . In order to quantify the interaction of the lanes, we calculated the crosscorrelation $`cc(\tau )`$ of the time-series of measurements of the density, the flow and the velocity on different lanes:

$$cc(x_i,x_j)=\frac{x_i(t)x_j(t+\tau )x_i(t)x_j(t+\tau )}{\sqrt{x_i^2(t)x_i(t)^2}\sqrt{x_j^2(t+\tau )x_j(t+\tau )^2}}.$$
(1)
Here $`x_i`$ denotes either the flow, the density or the velocity in lane $`i`$.

In the free flow state the weak interaction of the lanes results in a small correlation of all quantities (Fig. 15). Since the flow is mainly controlled by density fluctuations the density and the flow measurements show the same correlations. In contrast, at larger densities the velocity and the flow on both lanes is strongly correlated ($`cc(x_i,x_j)0.6`$ at $`\tau =0`$), i.e., indicating that the system is in the synchronized regime. However, due to the large variance of the density measurements in the synchronized regime the density on both lanes is not correlated (Fig. 16).

Lane changes are responsible for the synchronization of the velocities of different lanes . In case of a velocity difference between the lanes, vehicles are changing to the faster lanes, thus decreasing the velocity difference. This leads to a strong coupling of the lanes in the congested regime. In particular, in the vicinity of on- and offramps cars enter or leave only the right lane, but both lanes are disturbed at large in- or outflows. In order to verify this, we simulated a system with open boundary conditions and generated a jam on the right lane by a large input of an onramp. As a result, the jam spreads to the left lane, so that the time-series of the velocity measurements of both, the left and the right lane are highly correlated. Moreover, the traffic breakdown occurs at the same time (Fig. 17) leading to a synchronization of the lanes.

## 5 Single-lane vs. two-lane traffic

A detailed comparison of the single-lane model with the corresponding two-lane models shows that it is not possible to increase the flow of a two-lane model to more than twice the flow of a single-lane model by means of an asymmetric lane interaction. In contrast to symmetric models, the flow of the asymmetric model on the right lane is decreased whereas the flow on the left lane is increased compared with the single-lane model (Fig. 18). The right lane overtaking ban and the right lane preference lead to a suboptimal gap usage and, therefore, to a reduction of the flow on the right lane. As a result, the mean flow per lane is smaller than the flow of a homogeneous single-lane model.

However, the benefits of the two-lane model become visible if different types of cars with different maximum velocities are considered. (Note, that the trucks are not allowed to change the lane.) Due to the possibility of overtaking, the system is more robust regarding disorder. While the flow of a single-lane model is dominated already by just one slow car  (since passing is not possible), the flow on the right lane of the two-lane model is only decreased in the vicinity of $`\rho _{\mathrm{max}}`$ compared with the homogeneous model.

Furthermore, the travel-time of a vehicle is reduced considerably by the lane interaction. The travel-time is measured as the time a vehicle needs to pass a given fixed link of the lattice twice. Thus the travel-time on the right lane is given by vehicles that passed the measurement section on the right lane. Here it is not distinguished whether the car started on the left or the right lane and lane changes during the trip through the system are allowed.

Compared to the single-lane model, the width of the travel-time distribution in the congested regime of the two-lane model is larger (Fig. 19) but the maximum has moved to smaller times. On one hand, vehicles which cannot change the lane due to an insufficient safety gap lead to larger travel-times. On the other hand, the possibility to change the lane reduces the travel-time. Moreover, the asymmetric distribution of the density leads to a smaller travel-time on the right lane than on the left lane Again, the results in the congested regime are independent on the fraction of trucks since driving with maximum velocity is no longer possible.

In the free flow regime, the inclusion of trucks on the right lane is responsible for a larger mean travel-time compared with the homogeneous two-lane model (Fig. 20). The trucks on the right lane enforce clustering so that the travel-time of cars trapped behind a truck increases which leads to a second small peak at large times in the travel-time distribution. Therefore, the more trucks are in the system, the larger is the variance of the travel-time distribution.

## 6 Conclusion

We have presented an asymmetric two-lane model with a simple and local lane changing rule set that shows the empirically observed lane usage inversion and reproduces the density dependence of the number of lane changes. In order to observe lane usage inversion it is not sufficient to implement asymmetry into the model by means of disorder, i.e., different types of cars. Moreover, the introduction of the right lane overtaking ban or the right lane preference alone fails to reproduce the lane usage inversion, too. Thus, realistic behavior is only obtained by incorporating both a right lane preference and a right lane overtaking ban simultaneously into the model’s rules.

The benefits of the two-lane model compared with the single-lane model become visible by introducing disorder: there is no flow enhancement of the two-lane model with one type of cars, but the robustness of the flow regarding slow vehicles can be increased significantly by means of lane interaction. This lane interaction leads to a strong coupling of both lanes in the synchronized regime, which results in strong correlations of the time-series of the velocity.

As a consequence, a jam generated on the right lane by an onramp can branch to the left lane leading to a congested region on both lanes. In order to improve and optimize the throughput of the highway it is possible to use ramp metering systems . Here, such systems will help to reduce perturbations of the right lane and, thus, stabilize the flow even on the left lane.

Finally, a detailed analysis of local measurements shows that the car dynamics remains unchanged by the introduction of the lane changing rules. Therefore, the lane change extension of the single-lane model can be used for the propagation of traffic state information to all lanes, e.g., in order to synchronize the lanes, or to trigger distinct traffic states (e.g., in the vicinity of on- and offramps). Moreover, the independence of the velocity update and the lane change update allows for further improvements of the car dynamics and/or developments of more sophisticated lane changing rules (e.g., for bottlenecks).

Acknowledgments: The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Economics and Midsize Businesses, Technology and Transport for the financial support. L. S. acknowledges support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Grant No. SA864/1-2.

## References


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# Hydrodynamics of dense granular systems

## 1. INTRODUCTION

The interest in granular materials goes back to the early sixties, when industries needing to process powders required more and more control over the quality of their products. One may imagine a variety of shapes for mixers and many different ways to drive the grains inside into motion; a down-to-earth approach would consist of an answer for the question: in which of these mixers should I spend money? This can be done if one can compare their performances by means of realistic models that reproduce true flow patterns.

In order to answer aspects of this problem, and based on the gas-like appearance of the compounding particles, attempts were made to apply a hydrodynamical description to granular systems. It has been more than a decade since the pioneering contributions to the understanding of granular materials from a hydrodynamical point of view. This understanding, however, is still far from being complete. We will address here several questions of theoretical and practical interest, namely fluctuations and averaging problems intrinsic to granular nature, modelling of dense granular flows by means of hydrodynamic equations and boundary conditions, comparisons with experimental data and results from molecular dynamics simulations, and fluctuations and mixing problems.

## 2. THE SOURCES OF FLUCTUATIONS

The behavior of a granular mass is fundamentally different from that of typical fluids. For instance, consider ordinary hydrodynamic fluctuations: the lack of an intermediate length scale –much larger than the typical diameter of the grains but much smaller than the size of the system, makes the thermodynamic limit unnatainable and therefore hydrodynamic fluctuations may subsist in the continuum limit. In addition, the fact that solid grains in a dense arrangement can’t be regarded as points in any length scale leads to a second source of fluctuations; it operates at distances much larger than the typical diameter of the particles and is related to the appearance of extensive arrangements inside the system. Given a mean density not far away from the close-packing limit, there is a fraction of the free volume which is still available and can be distributed in many ways. Some of these configurations will flow, some will not allow net motion, so different actual realizations in the configuration space of the particles may lead to departing dynamic properties and, ultimately, in generating completely different time-sequences. This contribution is what we call non-local noise. Both, local and non-local noise, are always present but their relative importance strongly depends on the forcing applied to the system, measured by the parameter $`g=f/\rho g`$, $`f`$ being the volume density of the forcing and $`g`$ the acceleration of gravity.

Therefore, one can distinguish two sources of fluctuations and two types of averaging, one over local noise and the other over different configurations or realizations.

We propose the existence of two regimes; in the weak-forcing limit, $`g\stackrel{<}{}1`$, the non-local component of the noise dominates, and consequently one expects very long relaxation rates and non-self-averaging quantities. In this limit, only ensemble averaging is meaningful, as in every possible realization the system explores a small region of the configurational space. The glass-like behavior is most apparent. In the opposite limit, $`g1`$, the system is not easily trapped in an immobile arrangement, and one can safely assume that in a sufficiently long time it explores the representative part of the configuration space. Time averaging can substitute ensemble averaging only in this limit. Consistently with this picture, the critical density, $`\rho _c`$, is not unique in general, but is a distributed quantity depending on the configurational state, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Actually, we shall see that experimental data on compaction at weak forcing display quenched behavior, and the final density may vary over more than 10%. Instead, our numerical study of granular convection under strong forcing indicates a much narrower histogram of maximal achieved densities, $`\rho _c`$, despite the fact that the number of particles and the used number of samples for averaging were much smaller. Consider that for high forcing, the mean density evolves within a comparatively wide margin and the system very rarely, if ever, visits any of the corresponding trapping configurations. In the mean-field limit, one can consider $`\rho _c`$ as an unique constant, which would correspond to the strict close-packing limit.

In spite of the complexity of this picture, we show that it is possible to understand both weak and strong forcing limits within the frame of hydrodynamic equations, which are in general stochastic equations including both local and non-local noise. It is beyond of the scope of this paper a detailed analysis of the properties of such equations, which is extensively done elsewhere. Our aim is to present some results of our study of the evolution of the mean hydrodynamic fields, comparing them with their observed behavior in a sample of cases.

## 3. HYDRODYNAMIC EQUATIONS

By hydrodynamic equations we mean balance equations for mean mesoscopic hydrodynamic fields. We will focus on the equations for the conservation of mass and linear momentum, leaving the energy balance for a later discussion. As said in the previous section, the lack of an intermediate length scale –contrary to what happens in simple fluids for instance, containing a sufficiently large number of particles such that local fluctuations fade away, adds on the above exposed problem of non-local fluctuations due to the intrinsic granular nature of the system, operating at length scales where hydrodynamic fields can already be defined. The former can be modelled as the usual additive stochastic contribution to the dissipative flows and comes related to the existence of some kind of ”temperature”, the latter enters via distributed kinetic coefficients (depending on the configurational state $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$). In the continuum approach, conservation of mass and linear momentum read, in the Stokes approximation,

$`_t\rho +\rho 𝐯`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$ (1)
$`\rho _tv_i`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\sigma _{ij}}{x_j}}+f_i,`$ (2)
where $`f_i`$ are the components of the volume density of forcing. Note that these equations express very basic laws. However, they are valid in the usual form when the averages decouple, that is, when the average of the ”microscopic” linear momentum equals the product of the averages of $`\rho `$ and $`𝐯`$. However, due to the mesoscopic nature of the averaging procedure, this is not guaranteed. It will work if the local fluctuations are small enough. We shall discuss the fact that local fluctuations of the velocity field are very small in dense granular flows, except the very few moments when the granular mass undergoes dramatic changes, and close to the boundaries of the system.

As for the terms constituting the stress tensor $`\sigma _{ij}`$ a few comments are in order. Provided that the granular particles may be modelled as sufficiently hard spheres, we neglect any elastic contribution other than that introduced by pressure effects, and assume that the non-equilibrium part of $`\sigma _{ij}`$ is a local functional of the derivatives of the local velocity,

$$\sigma _{ij}=p\delta _{ij}+\eta (\rho ,\mathrm{\Gamma })\left(\frac{v_i}{x_j}+\frac{v_j}{x_i}\frac{2}{3}\delta _{ij}𝐯\right)+\zeta (\rho ,\mathrm{\Gamma })\delta _{ij}𝐯+\xi _{ij}.$$
(3)
where $`p`$ is the pressure and $`\eta `$ and $`\zeta `$ the shear and volume viscosities, respectively.

### 3.1. The role of temperature and the pressure term

Our molecular dynamic simulations indicate that the evolution of the velocity field in dense granular flow is nearly independent from the granular temperature, defined as the mean fluctuational part of the velocity. Effectively, well inside the bulk, the quantity $`\delta v/v`$, measuring such fluctuational deviations from the mean velocity $`v`$, is typically about six orders of magnitude smaller than close to the boundary. This and other evidences allow us to suppose that granular flows in dense systems can’t be sustained by a temperature-based mechanism alone –unlike Rayleigh-Bénard convection in simple fluids, for instance. Note that the equation for the energy balance has been omitted; consistently with the observation that the granular temperature plays no significant role, its evolution appears decoupled from the previous system of equations111 Actually, we observed that the rate of energy release, coming from inellastic collisions, was clearly correlated with the viscous heating (see next subsection for the model for the viscosity). These terms are therefore responsible for the evolution of the temperature field, since the energy loss is proportional to some power of the granular temperature, $`T`$. We checked the functional dependency, resulting in the expected $`T^{3/2}`$.. Similarly, one cannot account for elastic contributions in the high density limit only by using a thermal pressure. Therefore, one has to model such terms by means of an artificial equation of state which must help to resolve the delicate limit $`\rho \rho _c`$. We assumed the most simple dependence, $`p=p_0/(1\rho /\rho _c)`$, where $`p_0`$ represents a certain constant, in our numerical integration of the hydrodynamic equations in the strong forcing regime.

### 3.2. The viscosity

.

Accordingly, the model that we adopt for the viscosity is not thermal, but glass-like. In dense clusters, in order to move, a complex rearrangement of particles has to occur making use of voids. Similar properties are exhibited by glasses. Available experimental data and our numerical results indicate the presence of a factor $`\mathrm{exp}[c/(1\rho /\rho _c))]`$ in the mean flow rates, where $`c`$ is a dimensionless number. This formula is related to the Vögel-Fultcher law for glasses; it measures the number of attempts needed for one step in the direction of average flow in a dense granular system. Sufficiently close to $`\rho _c`$, we then expect a shear viscosity of the form

$$\eta (\rho ,\mathrm{\Gamma })=\eta _0(\rho ,\mathrm{\Gamma })\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{c}{1\rho /\rho _c(\mathrm{\Gamma })}\right).$$
(4)
and a similar dependence for the bulk viscosity, $`\zeta (\rho ,\mathrm{\Gamma })`$.

## 4. TEST OF THE HYDRODYNAMIC EQUATIONS

We discuss some representative examples of each regime. For the weak forcing limit, available experimental data on compaction of sand during tapping experiments provide the necessary reference. For the strong forcing limit we perform extensive ensemble averaging of samples generated by molecular dynamic (MD) simulations of vertical and horizontal shaking, comparing the resulting hydrodynamic fields with those generated integrating numerically the hydrodynamic equations. We shall also show analytical results on the cycle-averaged velocity profiles in vertical shaking that fit experimental profiles.

### 4.1. Weak forcing limit. Application to compaction experiments.

These results provide additional support for the existence of non-local noise, and evidence that the mean flows are of hydrodynamic nature even in very dense limits. Beginning with a loosely packed sand at volume fraction $`\rho _0=0.57`$ the authors report a logarithmic density growth,

$$\rho _c\rho (t)=\frac{A}{1+B\mathrm{ln}(1+t/\tau )},$$
(5)
where $`A,B,\tau ,\rho _c`$ are four fitting parameters. It can be shown that it is possible to retrieve such a dependence by integration of hydrodynamic equations. Omitting further details about calculations and average over non-local noise, one finds after integration of the 1-dimensional version of (1,2) at late times

$$\overline{\rho _c}\rho (t)=\frac{c}{\mathrm{ln}[(_0^t𝑑tF)/c\overline{\eta }_0]},$$
(6)
$`\overline{\rho }_c`$ and $`\overline{c}`$, already averaged over non-local noise, are constants which depend on, say, the amplitude of forcing, but do not change over time. The quantity $`F`$ is related to the integral of the density of forcing and is left unspecified. Equation (6) can be compared with experimental fit, (see Fig. 1a) assuming $`_0^t𝑑tF=tF`$, where the average is taken over a period of repeated tapping. We find $`A/B=\overline{c}`$, $`\tau =c\overline{\eta }_0/F`$. This is a three parameter fit. It demonstrates that hydrodynamics may be used for analyzing experimental data. Different fitting values of $`\overline{\rho }_c`$, $`\overline{c}`$ support the assumption that granular configurations with different $`\rho _c`$, $`c`$ (different states $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$) do not communicate at weak forcing. Now we can be more specific in what we mean by ”weak” forcing. Note that the fit is satisfactory at late times. At early times that situation is different: the higher is the value of $`g`$ the longer it takes before the fit is any good. If we plot the density when the deviation from the fit is a few percent versus the forcing parameter we get Fig. 1b. It suggests that the fits are good when the assumption of quenched values of $`\rho _c`$ and $`c`$ is fulfilled. Therefore, one may expect that the non-local noise is quenched above a certain line in the $`(\rho ,g)`$ plane.

### 4.2. Strong forcing limit. Results from MD simulations.

This case is object of a more complete study. Consider for example periodic vertical shaking of sand under gravity. It is well known that sand in such conditions develops typical convective rolls, with particles going upwards inside, and downwards along the vertical walls. The motion is evidenced, for example, by the bulging colored stripes resulting from Magnetic Resonance Imaging experiments, which represent cycle-averaged displacements. Again, it is possible to show that the system of equations (1,2) can be integrated to give a good fit of the experimental data. We will omit here the detailed derivation, which can be found in Ref. . Imposing the geometry of a tall container of width L in which the density slightly decreases with height, assuming Eq. (4) for the viscosity and the incompressibility condition (see step 4, below, for the reasons of such approximation), one finds

$$v_z(x,z)=v_0e^{k^2zl_z}\left[1kL\frac{\mathrm{cosh}(kx)}{\mathrm{sinh}(kL)}\right].$$
(7)
which is solution of Eq. (2) for the cycle-averaged vertical velocity, in a two dimensional geometry. Here $`l_z`$ represents the scale of variation of the viscosity in the linear approximation, $`k`$ an arbitrary inverse length scale and $`v_0`$ a characteristic amplitude of the velocity, unspecified. See Ref.  for experimental evidence of Eq. (7).

A major understanding of the motion requires, however, a time-resolved analysis, and we show how this can be done via molecular dynamics simulations. We will not discuss details about the simulations here, it suffices to say that we used a polydisperse sample of 2000 soft spheres in a rectangular container, and the chosen values for the friction parameters reproduce correctly the experimental MRI images mentioned above. $`g`$ was about 2 in the study of vertical shaking, and 9 in the case of horizontal shaking. We choose the first for presentation, although the results can be extended to the horizontal shaking, leaving aside some peculiarities which are not worth to comment here. The following steps summarize the procedure we used, which is schematized in the chart of Fig. 2:

1. Time discretization. Each period of shaking was divided in an equal number of frames, where positions of particles were recorded.
2. Spatial discretization and averaging. Using a high resolution grid, the container was divided in cells of the size of the order of one particle. Time averaging –which can replace ensemble averaging in this case, was performed with data of the corresponding frames of more of 100 periods of shaking.
3. Mean density, velocity and temperature (mean fluctuational velocity) were obtained and displayed. Visualization was done by means of IDL movies, showing smooth, well behaved fields. The sequences revealed unsuspected details about the motion that the granular mass experiences during a cycle, totally hidden when a cycle-average is performed (which leads to the typical convective rolls and has confused the sand community for long time). As an example, we reproduce in Fig. 3a the horizontal component of the velocity, $`v_x`$. Observe that the motion is complex and unexpected, in the sense that one cannot infer from the sequence of pictures of $`v_x`$ (neither from $`v_y`$, not shown) the direction of the global motion. The evolution of the granular temperature is shown in Fig. 4. Since the darkest regions represent the lowest values, it is obvious that its importance is restricted to the region close to the free surface, and in the bulk, to a limited number of frames.
4. Test of the hydrodynamic equations. By using the mean hydrodynamic fields obtained in 3., the system of equations (1,2) was checked. Selected frames provided fitting values for $`c`$ and $`\rho _c`$ (see Fig. 5a). $`\eta _0`$ was found to be about 300 cpoise by comparing histograms of the tangential force and the velocity gradient close to the walls (Fig. 5b), whereas the observation that the flow was mostly divergence-free allowed us to neglect the effects of $`\zeta `$.
5. Study of boundary conditions. We obtained effective boundary conditions for the flow that reproduce to some extent the assumptions of microscopic friction during collisions, but we also found that the motion of sand along the vertical walls comes accompanied by dramatic periodic changes in the density and the stress (Fig. 6).
6. The previous results were used to integrate numerically the system of hydrodynamic equations. In Fig. 3b we show comparatively the sequence obtained for $`v_x`$. Observe that, apart from a qualitative agreement (including the order of magnitude of the velocity fields) there is room for improvement.

## 5. FLUCTUATIONS AND MIXING

Consider the motion of a test granular particle in any averaged velocity field generated by the procedure exposed above (different container shapes, various types of shaking). This is of practical interest in order to determine, for example, the effectiveness of a mixing device. In the absence of granular temperature, the motion of the test particle would follow the flux lines. Starting from a given position, $`𝐱_n`$, after one period a new location $`𝐱_{n+1}`$ will be reached, which is the result of the integration of elementary displacements (here equating the number of frames per cycle). Fig. 7 shows the results for vertical and horizontal shaking in the same way as the Magnetic Resonance Imaging. In this case computer imaging simulates the horizontal and vertical motion of colored bands initially parallel, which become distorted in the course of one period. The cycle-averaged motion is then reducible to iterative maps, leading to mixing. Such mixing is incomplete since there may exist regions undergoing periodic motion, which are not mixed at all. It happens, for example, in the center of convection rolls accompanying horizontal shaking, potentially making the horizontal shaking of thick layers ineffective for mixing particles.

The second origin of mixing is due to noise, leading to diffussion which superimposes to the iterative map discussed above. The distance to diffuse in order to achieve complete mixing is determined by the largest region containing limiting cycles and/or fixed points. Non-local noise at a length scale $`l_n`$ and time scale $`t_n`$ leads to nested displacements correlated in space and time and helps to mix particles at distances exceeding $`l_n`$ and times exceeding $`t_n`$. This subject has to be postponed until the properties of non-local noise are specified.

## 6. CONCLUSIONS

1. Hydrodynamic equations provide an adequate theoretical frame for the study of dense granular systems.
2. Non-local or configurational noise adds on the ordinary hydrodynamic noise, leading to non-selfaveraging properties in the limit of dense flows.
3. Temperature-based mechanisms can be practically dismissed in the description of dense granular flows.
4. Averaging of data from molecular dynamic simulations is an useful tool to reveal the details of the evolution of hydrodynamic fields.
5. Results of numerical integration of the system of hydrodynamic equations show a qualitative agreement with the evolution of hydrodynamic fields.
6. Study of fluctuations and cycle-averaged motion concern practical applications such as mixing.

## ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to thank A. Malagoli, A. Patashinski and S. Nagel for useful conversations, and H. Jaeger for providing the file with the experimental data published in Ref. . S.E.E. is grateful to T. Shinbrot for discussing practical aspects of granular mixing. C. S. acknowledges support by the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion y Cultura, grant number EX95-35065343. At the initial stage the work of S.E.E. and T.P. was supported by MRSEC Program of the NSF under the Grant Number DMR-9400379.


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# References

A NEW INTERPRETATION OF THE SEIBERG WITTEN MAP
Subir Ghosh

Physics and Applied Mathematics Unit,

Indian Statistical Institute,

203 B. T. Road, Calcutta 700108,

India.

Abstract:
In an alternative interpretation, the Seiberg-Witten map is shown to be induced by a field dependent co-ordinate transformation connecting noncommutative and ordinary space-times. Furthermore, following our previous ideas, it has been demonstrated here that the above (field dependent co-ordinate) transformation can occur naturally in the Batalin-Tyutin extended space version of the relativistic spinning particle model, (in a particular gauge). There is no need to postulate the space-time non-commutativity in an ad hoc way: It emerges from the spin degrees of freedom.

Keywords: Seiberg-Witten map, non-commutative space-time, spinning particle.

PACS Numbers: 02.40.Gh; 11.10.Ef; 11.90.+t

As a natural generalization of the phase space Non-Commutativity (NC) in quantum mechanics, NC in spacetime was originally introduced by Snyder  as a regularization to tame the short distance singularities, inherent in a Quantum Field Theory (QFT). This is because NC in spacetime can introduce a lower bound in the continuity of spacetime, just as $`\mathrm{}`$ does in the phase space in quantum mechanics. The advantage of NC as a regularization is that the computational scheme requires very little changes from the ordinary spacetime and in some forms of NC , (for more recent works see ), manifest Lorentz invariance can be maintained. However, due to the advent of renormalization techniques in QFT, the idea of Snyder  did not gain much popularity. Also now we know  that the NC prescription does not quite render a QFT well-defined, as it was envisaged somewhat naively.

In more recent times, existence of non-commutativity in (open) string boundaries in the presence of a constant two-form Neveu-Schwarz field, and the resulting Non-Commutative Quantum Field Theory (NCQFT) in the branes to which the open string endpoints are attached, has rekindled the interest  in physics in non-commutative space-time. Seiberg and Witten  have shown that the appearence of NCQFT is dependent on the choice of regularization and in fact a QFT in ordinary spacetime and an NCQFT both can describe the same underlying QFT. Concretization of this idea has lead to the celebrated Seiberg-Witten Map (SWM)  which plays a pivotal role in our understanding of the NCQFT by directly making contact between NCQFT and QFT in ordinary space-time via the SWM. At least to the lowest non-trivial order in $`\theta _{\mu \nu }`$, the non-commutativity parameter,

$$[x_\mu ,x_\nu ]=i\theta _{\mu \nu },$$
(1)
the SWM can be exploited to convert a NCQFT to its counterpart living in ordinary space-time, in which the effects of non-commutativity appears as local interaction terms, supplemented by $`\theta _{\mu \nu }`$. In the more popular form of NCQFT, $`\theta _{\mu \nu }`$ is taken to be constant. This can lead to very striking signatures in particle physics phenomenology in the form of Lorentz symmetry breakdown, new interaction vertices etc. .

However, as it stands, the SWM is linked exclusively to NC gauge theory, since the original derivation of the SWM  hinges on the concept of identifying gauge orbits in NC and ordinary space-times. In the explicit form of the SWM , the non-commutativity of the space-time in which the NC gauge field lives, is not manifest at all since the map is a relation between the NC and ordinary gauge fields and gauge transformation parameters, all having ordinary space-time coordinates as their arguments.

On the other hand, possibly it would have been more natural to consider first a map between NC and ordinary space-time and subsequently to induce the SWM through the change in the space-time argument of the gauge field from the ordinary to NC one. Precisely this type of a geometrical reformulation of the SWM is presented in this paper.

In the canonical quantization prescription, the Poisson Bracket algebra is elevated to quantum commutator algebra by the replacement

$$\{A,B\}\frac{1}{i}[\widehat{A},\widehat{B}].$$

But presence of constraints may demand a modification in the Poisson Bracket algebra, leading to the Dirac Bracket algebra , which are subsequently identified to the commutators,

$$\{A,B\}_{DB}\frac{1}{i}[\widehat{A},\widehat{B}].$$

However, complications in this formalism can arise, (in particular in case of non-linear constraints), where the Dirac Bracket algebra itself becomes operator valued. To overcome this, Batalin and Tyutin  have developed a systematic scheme in which all the physical variables are mapped in an extended canonical phase space, consisting of auxiliary degrees of freedom besides the physical ones, with all of them enjoying canonical free Poisson Bracket algebra. In this formalism, the ambiguity of using (operator valued) Dirac Brackets as quantum commutators does not arise.

In the spinning particle model  the canonical $`\{x_\mu ,x_\nu \}=0`$ Poisson Bracket changes to an operator valued Dirac Bracket,

$$\{x_\mu ,x_\nu \}_{DB}=\frac{S_{\mu \nu }}{M^2},$$
(2)
due to the presence of constraints. In the above, the dynamical variable $`S_{\mu \nu }`$ represents the spin angular momentum and $`M`$ is the mass of the particle. This forces us to exploit the Batalin-Tyutin prescription .

In a recent paper , we have constructed a mapping of the form,

$$\{x_\mu ,x_\nu \}=0,x_\mu \widehat{x}_\mu ;\{\widehat{x}_\mu ,\widehat{x}_\nu \}=\theta _{\mu \nu },$$
(3)
which bridges the noncommutative and ordinary space-times. Note that $`\widehat{x}_\mu `$ lives in the Batalin-Tyutin  extended space and is of the generic form $`\widehat{x}_\mu =x_\mu +X_\mu `$, where $`X_\mu `$ consists of physical and auxiliary degrees of freedom. Explicit expressions for $`X_\mu `$ are to be found later .

This space-time map induces in a natural way the following map between noncommutative and ordinary degrees of freedom,

$$\lambda (x)\lambda (\widehat{x})\widehat{\lambda }(x),A_\mu (x)A_\mu (\widehat{x})\widehat{A}_\mu (x).$$
(4)
Here $`\widehat{\lambda }`$ and $`\widehat{A}_\mu `$ are the NC counterparts of $`\lambda `$ and $`A_\mu `$, the abelian gauge transformation parameter and the gauge field respectively and $`\widehat{x}_\mu `$ and $`x_\mu `$ are the NC and ordinary space-time co-ordinates.

On the other hand, there also exists the SWM  which interpolates between noncommutative and ordinary variables,

$$\lambda (x)\widehat{\lambda }(x),A_\mu (x)\widehat{A}_\mu (x).$$
(5)
It is only logical that the above two schemes ((3-4) and 5) can be related. In the present work we have precisely done that. The formulation  (3-4) being the more general one, we have explicitly demonstrated how it can be reduced to the SWM , in a particular gauge. This incidentally demonstrates the correctness of the procedure. The above idea was hinted in . 111The present analysis being classical, (non)commutativity is to be interpreted in the sense of Poisson or Dirac Brackets.

In this context, let us put the present work in its proper perspective. Recently a number of works  have appeared with the motivation of recovering the SWM in a geometric way, without invoking the gauge theory principles. However, the noncommutative feature of the space-time plays no direct role in the above mentioned re-derivations of the SWM, with non-commutativity just being postulated in an ad hoc way. In the present work, we have shown how one can construct a noncommutative sector inside an extended phase space, in a relativistically covariant way. More importantly, we have shown explicitly how this generalized map can be reduced to the SWM under certain approximations. Interestingly, this extended space is physically significant and well studied: It is the space of the relativistic spinning particle . Hence it might be intuitively appealing to think that the NC space-time is endowed with spin degrees of freedom, as compared to the ordinary configuration space, since the spin variables directly generate the NC 222This conjecture has been verified by us in , where we have explicitly constructed a non-commutative target space on a two dimensional manifold. The NC emerges from additional target space spin fields, besides usual space-time coordinate degrees of freedom.. The analogue of the gauge field is also identified inside this phase space, without any need to consider external fields. This situation is to be contrasted with the NC arising from the background magnetic field in the well known Landau problem  of a charge moving in a plane in the presence of a strong, perpendicular magnetic field, or its string theory counterpart .

We re-emphasize by mentioning that although the coordinate transformation derived here agrees with the previously obtained diffeomorphism , (as it should), the framework in which it is rederived is entirely distinct from  since here we introduce a dynamical extension of the configuration space intrinsically, whereas  requires an external gauge field. Regarding our identification of the SWM (to $`O(\theta )`$) as a coordinate transformation in a specific gauge in the Batalin-Tyutin extension of the spinning particle model, it should be pointed out that the choice of a particular gauge does not restrict the analogy in any way. Because of the gauge invariance of the model, other gauge choices will simply lead to gauge equivalent theories. In fact one can generate dual systems obeying different gauge conditions which are not noncommutative. Incidentally, this corroborates with the observation of Seiberg and Witten  that the non-c! ommutative description of a theory is not unique. The above identification, to higher orders in $`\theta `$, has not been attempted so far but the success in the $`O(\theta )`$ case is encouraging. Indeed, in itself $`O(\theta )`$ results are relevant since most of the analysis in NC theories pertain to $`O(\theta )`$ computations.

The genesis of the SWM is the observation  that the non-commutativity in string theory depends on the choice of the regularization scheme: it appears in e.g. point-spitting regularization whereas it does not show up in Pauli Villars regularization. This feature, among other things, has prompted Seiberg and Witten  to suggest the map connecting the NC gauge fields and gauge transformation parameter to the ordinary gauge field and gauge transformation parameter. The explicit form of the SWM , for abelian gauge group, to the first non-trivial order in the NC parameter $`\theta _{\mu \nu }`$ is the following,

$$\widehat{\lambda }(x)=\lambda (x)+\frac{1}{2}\theta ^{\mu \nu }A_\nu (x)_\mu \lambda (x),$$

$$\widehat{A}_\mu (x)=A_\mu (x)+\frac{1}{2}\theta ^{\sigma \nu }A_\nu (x)F_{\sigma \mu }(x)+\frac{1}{2}\theta ^{\sigma \nu }A_\nu (x)_\sigma A_\mu (x).$$
(6)
The above relation (6) is an $`O(\theta )`$ solution of the general map ,

$$\widehat{A}_\mu (A+\delta _\lambda A)=\widehat{A}_\mu (A)+\widehat{\delta }_{\widehat{\lambda }}\widehat{A}_\mu (A),$$
(7)
which is based on identifying gauge orbits in NC and ordinary space-time.

First let us show that it is indeed possible to re-derive the SWM using geometric objects. We rewrite the SWM (6) in the following way,

$$\widehat{\lambda }(x)=\lambda (x)+\frac{1}{2}\{\delta _f[\lambda (x)](\lambda (x^{})\lambda (x))\}=\lambda (x)+\delta _f[\lambda (x)],$$
(8)
$$\widehat{A}_\mu (x)=A_\mu (x)+\{\delta _f[A_\mu (x)](A_\mu (x^{})A_\mu (x))\}=A_\mu (x)+A_\mu ^{}(x)A_\mu (x^{}).$$
(9)
In the above we have defined,

$$x_\mu ^{}=x_\mu f_\mu ,A_\mu ^{}(x^{})=\frac{x^\nu }{x^\mu }A_\nu (x),\lambda ^{}(x^{})=\lambda (x),$$

$$f^\mu \frac{1}{2}\theta ^{\mu \nu }A_\nu .$$
(10)
Here $`f^\mu `$ is the field dependent space-time translation parameter and $`\delta _f`$ constitutes the Lie derivative connected to $`f^\mu `$,

$$\delta _f[\lambda (x)]=\lambda ^{}(x)\lambda (x)=(\lambda (x^{})\lambda (x))=f^i_i\lambda ,$$

$$\delta _f[A_\mu (x)]=A_\mu ^{}(x)A_\mu (x).$$
(11)
This shows that the NC gauge parameter $`(\widehat{\lambda })`$ and gauge field $`(\widehat{A}^\mu )`$ are derivable from the ordinary one by making a field dependent space-time translation $`f^\mu `$ . One can check that the NC gauge transformation of $`\widehat{A}_\mu (x)`$ is correctly reproduced by considering,

$$\widehat{\delta }\widehat{A}_\mu (x)=\delta (A_\mu (x)+\frac{1}{2}\theta ^{\sigma \nu }A_\nu (x)F_{\sigma \mu }(x)+\frac{1}{2}\theta ^{\sigma \nu }A_\nu (x)_\sigma A_\mu (x)),$$
(12)
where $`\delta A_\mu (x)=_\mu \lambda (x)`$ is the gauge transformation in ordinary space-time. Hence, if expressed in the form (9), the SWM, (at least to $`O(\theta )`$), can be derived in a geometrical way, without introducing the original identification (7) obtained from the viewpoint of a matching between NC and ordinary gauge invariant sectors. Also note that the gauge field $`A_\mu (x)`$ is treated here just as an ordinary vector field, without invoking any gauge theory properties. This constitutes the first part of our result.

Returning to our starting premises, are we justified in making an identification between $`\widehat{x}_\mu `$ in (3)-(4) and $`x_\mu ^{}`$ introduced in (8)-(10), because this relation can connect NC and ordinary space-time. Naively, a relation of the form, $`x_\mu ^{}=x_\mu f_\mu (x)`$ can not render the $`x^{}`$-space noncommutative, since the right hand side of the equation apparently comprises of commuting objects only. In our subsequent discussion we will show how this surmise can be made meaningful and will return to this point at the end.

We start by considering a larger space having inherent NC. Such a space, which at the same time is physically appealing, is that of the Nambu-Goto model of relativistic spinning particle . Here the situation is somewhat akin to the open string boundary NC such that the role of Neveu-Schwarz field is played by here by the spin degrees of freedom. The Lagrangian of the model in 2+1-dimensions  is,

$$L=[M^2u^\mu u_\mu +\frac{J^2}{2}\sigma ^{\mu \nu }\sigma _{\mu \nu }+MJϵ^{\mu \nu \lambda }u_\mu \sigma _{\nu \lambda }]^{\frac{1}{2}},$$
(13)
$$u^\mu =\frac{dx^\mu }{d\tau },\sigma ^{\mu \nu }=\mathrm{\Lambda }_\rho ^\mu \frac{d\mathrm{\Lambda }^{\rho \nu }}{d\tau }=\sigma ^{\nu \mu },\mathrm{\Lambda }_\rho ^\mu \mathrm{\Lambda }^{\rho \nu }=\mathrm{\Lambda }_\rho ^\mu \mathrm{\Lambda }^{\nu \rho }=g^{\mu \nu },g^{00}=g^{ii}=1.$$
(14)
Here $`(x^\mu ,\mathrm{\Lambda }^{\mu \nu })`$ is a Poincare group element and also a set of dynamical variables of the theory.

In a Hamiltonian formulation, the conjugate momenta are,

$$P^\mu =\frac{L}{u_\mu }=L^1[M^2u^\mu +\frac{MJ}{2}ϵ^{\mu \nu \lambda }\sigma _{\nu \lambda }],S^{\mu \nu }=\frac{L}{\sigma _{\mu \nu }}=\frac{L^1}{2}[J^2\sigma ^{\mu \nu }+MJϵ^{\mu \nu \lambda }u_\lambda ].$$
(15)
The Poisson algebra of the above phase space degrees of freedom are,

$$\{P^\mu ,x^\nu \}=g^{\mu \nu },\{P^\mu ,P^\nu \}=0,\{x^\mu ,x^\nu \}=0,\{\mathrm{\Lambda }^{0\mu },\mathrm{\Lambda }^{0\nu }\}=0,$$
(16)
$$\{S^{\mu \nu },S^{\lambda \sigma }\}=S^{\mu \lambda }g^{\nu \sigma }S^{\mu \sigma }g^{\nu \lambda }+S^{\nu \sigma }g^{\mu \lambda }S^{\nu \lambda }g^{\mu \sigma },\{\mathrm{\Lambda }^{0\mu },S^{\nu \sigma }\}=\mathrm{\Lambda }^{0\nu }g^{\mu \sigma }\mathrm{\Lambda }^{0\sigma }g^{\mu \nu }.$$
(17)
The full set of constraints are,

$$\mathrm{\Psi }_1P^\mu P_\mu M^20,\mathrm{\Psi }_2S^{\mu \nu }S_{\mu \nu }2J^20,$$
(18)
$$\mathrm{\Theta }_1^\mu S^{\mu \nu }P_\nu ,\mathrm{\Theta }_2^\mu \mathrm{\Lambda }^{0\mu }\frac{P^\mu }{M},\mu =0,1,2,$$
(19)
out of which $`\mathrm{\Psi }_1`$ and $`\mathrm{\Psi }_2`$ give the mass and spin of the particle respectively. 333Note that instead of $`\mathrm{\Psi }_2`$ as above, one can equivalently use $`\mathrm{\Psi }_2ϵ^{\mu \nu \lambda }S_{\mu \nu }P_\lambda MJ,`$ which incidentally defines the Pauli Lubanski scalar. In the Dirac constraint analysis , these are termed as First Class Constraints (FCC), having the property that they commute with all the constraints on the constraint surface and generate gauge transformations. The set $`\mathrm{\Theta }_2^\mu `$ is put by hand , to restrict the number of angular co-ordinates.

The non-commuting set of constraints $`\mathrm{\Theta }_\alpha ^\mu ,\alpha =1,2`$, termed as Second Class Constraints (SCC) , modify the Poisson Brackets (16) to Dirac Brackets , defined below for any two generic variables $`A`$ and $`B`$,

$$\{A,B\}_{DB}=\{A,B\}\{A,\mathrm{\Theta }_\alpha ^\mu \}\mathrm{\Delta }_{\mu \nu }^{\alpha \beta }\{\mathrm{\Theta }_\beta ^\nu ,B\},$$
(20)
$$\{\mathrm{\Theta }_\alpha ^\mu ,\mathrm{\Theta }_\beta ^\nu \}\mathrm{\Delta }_{\alpha \beta }^{\mu \nu },\alpha ,\beta =1,2,\mathrm{\Delta }_{\alpha \beta }^{\mu \nu }\mathrm{\Delta }_{\nu \lambda }^{\beta \gamma }=\delta _\alpha ^\gamma \delta _\lambda ^\mu .$$
(21)
$`\mathrm{\Delta }_{\alpha \beta }^{\mu \nu }`$ is non-vanishing even on the constraint surface. The main result, relevant to us, is the following Dirac Bracket ,

$$\{x_\mu ,x_\nu \}_{DB}=\frac{S_{\mu \nu }}{M^2}\{\widehat{x}_\mu ,\widehat{x}_\nu \}=\theta _{\mu \nu }.$$
(22)
This is the non-commutativity that occurs naturally in the spinning particle model. Our aim is to express this NC co-ordinate $`\widehat{x}_\mu `$ in the form $`\widehat{x}_\mu =x_\mu f_\mu `$, with the identification between $`\theta _{\mu \nu }`$ and $`S_{\mu \nu }`$. This is indicated in the last equality in (22). In the quantum theory, this will lead to the NC space-time (3).

This motivates us to the Batalin-Tyutin quantization  of the spinning particle . For a system of irreducible SCCs, in this formalism , the phase space is extended by introducing additional BT variables, $`\varphi _a^\alpha `$, obeying

$$\{\varphi _\mu ^\alpha ,\varphi _\nu ^\beta \}=\omega _{\mu \nu }^{\alpha \beta }=\omega _{\nu \mu }^{\beta \alpha },\omega _{\mu \nu }^{\alpha \beta }=g_{\mu \nu }ϵ^{\alpha \beta },ϵ^{01}=1.$$
(23)
where the last expression is a simple choice for $`\omega _{\mu \nu }^{\alpha \beta }`$. The SCCs $`\mathrm{\Theta }_\alpha ^\mu `$ are modified to $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_\alpha ^\mu `$ such that they become FCC,

$$\{\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_\alpha ^\mu (q,\varphi ),\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_\beta ^\nu (q,\varphi )\}=0;\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_\alpha ^\mu (q,\varphi )=\mathrm{\Theta }_\alpha ^\mu (q)+\mathrm{\Sigma }_{n=1}^{\mathrm{}}\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_\alpha ^{\mu (n)}(q,\varphi );\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{\mu (n)}O(\varphi ^n),$$
(24)
with $`q`$ denoting the original degrees of freedom. Let us introduce the gauge invariant variables $`\stackrel{~}{f}(q)`$  corresponding to each $`f(q)`$, so that $`\{\stackrel{~}{f}(q),\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_\alpha ^\mu \}=0`$

$$\stackrel{~}{f}(q,\varphi )f(\stackrel{~}{q})=f(q)+\mathrm{\Sigma }_{n=1}^{\mathrm{}}\stackrel{~}{f}(q,\varphi )^{(n)},$$
(25)
which further satisfy ,

$$\{q_1,q_2\}_{DB}=q_3\{\stackrel{~}{q}_1,\stackrel{~}{q}_2\}=\stackrel{~}{q}_3,\stackrel{~}{0}=0.$$
(26)
It is now clear that our target is to obtain $`\stackrel{~}{x}_\mu `$ for $`x_\mu `$. Explicit expressions for $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{\mu (n)}`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{f}^{(n)}`$ are derived in .

Before we plunge into the BT analysis, the reducibility of the SCCs $`\mathrm{\Theta }_1^\mu (i.e.P_\mu \mathrm{\Theta }_1^\mu `$=0)  is to removed  by introducing a canonical pair of auxiliary variables $`\varphi `$ and $`\pi `$ that satisfy $`\{\varphi ,\pi \}=1`$ and PB commute with the rest of the physical variables. The modified SCCs that appear in the subsequent BT analysis are as shown below:

$$\mathrm{\Theta }_1^\mu S^{\mu \nu }P_\nu +k_1P^\mu \pi ;\mathrm{\Theta }_2^\mu (\mathrm{\Lambda }^{0\mu }\frac{P^\mu }{M})+k_2(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{0\mu }+\frac{P^\mu }{M})\varphi ,$$
(27)
where $`k_1`$ and $`k_2`$ denote two arbitrary parameters. Since the computations are exhaustively done in  they are not repeated here. The results are the following:

$$\stackrel{~}{x}_\mu =x_\mu +[S_{\nu \mu }+2k_1\pi g_{\nu \mu }](\varphi ^1)^\nu +_{1}^{}{}_{\mu \nu }{}^{}(\varphi ^2)^\nu +higher\varphi terms,$$
(28)
$$\{\stackrel{~}{x}_\mu ,\stackrel{~}{x}_\nu \}=\frac{\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mu \nu }}{M^2},\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mu \nu }=S_{\mu \nu }+_{2}^{}{}_{(\alpha )\mu \nu \lambda }{}^{}\varphi ^{(\alpha )\lambda }+higher\varphi terms,$$
(29)
where the expressions for $``$ are straightforward to obtain  but are not needed in the present order of analysis. Only it should be remembered that the $`_1`$-term in (28) is responsible for the $`(\varphi ^\alpha )^\mu `$-free term $`S_{\mu \nu }/(M^2)`$ in the $`\{\stackrel{~}{x}_\mu ,\stackrel{~}{x}_\nu \}`$ bracket in (29). Thus the problem that we had set out to solve has been addressed successfully in (28), which expresses the NC $`\stackrel{~}{x}_\mu `$ in terms of ordinary $`x_\mu `$ and other variables .

Now comes the crucial part of identification of the present map with the SWM . This means in particular that we have to connect (28) to (10), since as we have shown before, (10) is capable of generating the SWM . We exploit the freedom of choosing gauges according to our convenience, since in the BT extended space $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_\alpha ^\mu `$ are FCCs. For instance, the so called unitary gauge, $`\varphi _1^\mu =0,\varphi _2^\mu =0`$, trivially converts the system back to its original form before the BT extension. Let us choose the following non-trivial gauge,

$$\varphi _1^\mu =\frac{M^2}{2}A^\mu (x),\varphi _2^\mu =0,$$
(30)
where $`A^\mu (x)`$ is some function of $`x_\mu `$, to be identified with the gauge field. Let us also work with terms linear in $`A^\mu (x)`$. Identifying $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mu \nu }/(M)^2=\theta _{\mu \nu }`$ we end up with the cherished mapping,

$$\stackrel{~}{x}_\mu =x_\mu \frac{1}{2}\theta _{\mu \nu }A^\nu (x)+higherA(x)terms,$$
(31)
$$\{\stackrel{~}{x}_\mu ,\stackrel{~}{x}_\nu \}_{DB}=\theta _{\mu \nu }+higherA(x)terms.$$
(32)
Note that in the above relations (31,32), we have dropped the terms containing $`k_1`$, an arbitrary parameter , considering it to be very small. Also in (32) Dirac Bracket reappears since the system is gauge fixed and hence has SCCs. This constitutes the second part of our result.

Finally, two points are to be noted. Firstly, the non-commutativity present here does not break Lorentz invariance since there appear no constant parameter with non-trivial Lorentz index to start with. The violation will appear only in the identification of $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mu \nu }`$ with (constant) $`\theta _{\mu \nu }`$. Secondly, (28) truly expresses the NC space-time $`\stackrel{~}{x}_\mu `$ in terms of ordinary space-time $`x_\mu `$. But $`x_\mu `$ becomes NC owing to the Dirac brackets induced by the particular gauge that we fixed in order to reduce our results to the SWM. Obviously, in general, there is no need to fix this particular gauge. This refers to the comment below (12).

To conclude, we have shown that it is possible to view the (abelian $`O(\theta )`$) Seiberg Witten map as a co-ordinate transformation involving field dependent parameters. The idea of equivalence between gauge orbits in noncommutative and ordinary space-times, which was crucial in the original derivation , is not applied here. It has been explicitly demonstrated that a noncommutative space-time sector can be constructed in the Batalin-Tyutin extension of the relativistic spinning particle model . Finally, the above mentioned transformation and subsequently a direct connection with the Seiberg-Witten map is also generated in this model. It emerges from the present work that noncommutative space-time is endowed with spin degrees of freedom, as compared to the ordinary space-time .

Acknowledgement: It is a pleasure to thank Professor R.Jackiw for helpful correspondence.


text:
# Verification of CPT–invariance of QED bound states for the production of muonium or antimuonium in scattering of electrons or positrons by nuclei

## 1 Introduction

The verification of CPT–invariance of a quantum field theory (QFT) (in particular, Quantum Electrodynamics (QED)) is a meaningful problem of high energy physics, since the postulates of QFT are locality and relativistic invariance . As has been shown in Ref., this leads to invariance of the Lagrangian with respect to C–, P– and T–invariance. The simplest consequence CPT–invariance, the equality of masses of a particle and its antiparticle, is verified at present with a great accuracy. For example, for the masses of $`\mu ^+`$ and $`\mu ^{}`$ one has $`m_{\mu ^+}/m_\mu ^{}=1.000024\pm 0.000078`$ . However, the problem of CPT–invariance of bound states is still much less clarified. For example, in Ref. there has been suggested to treat the production of the antihydrogen for $`\overline{p}Z`$ collisions with a subsequent analysis of Lamb shifts $`2S_{1/2}2P_{1/2}`$ of the transitions between hydrogen and antihydrogen. However, nowadays the available statistics of events is n ot enough to make a definite conclusion. It is smaller compared with the required by a factor 40.

## 2 Cross section for reactions (1)

In this paper we suggest to treat the production of a muonium $`M^0`$ or antimuonium $`\overline{M}^0`$ in reactions

$`e^{}+ZZ+M^0+\mu ^{},e^++ZZ+\overline{M}^0+\mu ^+,`$ (2.1)
where $`M^0(\overline{M}^0)`$ is a bound state of $`\mu ^+`$, $`e^{}`$ ($`\mu ^{}`$, $`e^+`$). The dominant contribution to the amplitude of reactions (2.1) comes from the diagrams depicted in Fig.1.

Before we have written the amplitude of the reactions (2.1)(we would make everything by example of the reaction $`e^{}ZZM^0\mu ^{}`$) we suggest to discuss the vertex of recombination $`e^{}+\mu ^+M^0`$, $`e^++\mu ^{}\overline{M}^0`$. This vertex has been derived in  within the Bethe–Salpeter equation with a kernel approximated by the one–photon exchange. The set diagrams depicting this kernel is given in Fig.2111In Ref. instead of Fig.2 there has been occasionally adduced the diagrams in Fig.1 of the present paper..

If for the diagrams in Fig.1 to denote the product of the Green function of electron $`\widehat{G}_e^{}(p)=1/(\widehat{p}m_e)`$, the vertex of recombination $`e^{}+\mu ^+M^0`$, $`\widehat{\mathrm{\Gamma }}_0`$, and the Green function of the $`\mu ^+`$–meson $`\widehat{G}_{\mu ^+}(kp)=1/(\widehat{p}\widehat{k}m_\mu )`$ as the quantity

$`\widehat{X}(p,kp)=\widehat{G}_{\mu ^+}(kp)\widehat{\mathrm{\Gamma }}_0\widehat{G}_e^{}(p),`$ (2.2)
the solution of the Bethe–Salpeter equation for $`\widehat{X}(p,kp)`$ one can represent in the form

$`\widehat{X}(p,kp)=(1\gamma _0)\gamma _5{\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{m_\mu }}{2i}}{\displaystyle \frac{\left({\displaystyle \frac{\stackrel{}{p}^{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}}}{2m_e}}E_{bound}\right)\mathrm{\Phi }(\stackrel{}{p})}{\left(p_0m_e{\displaystyle \frac{\stackrel{}{p}^{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}}}{2m_e}}+i\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0}\right)\left(p_0k_0+m_\mu +{\displaystyle \frac{\stackrel{}{p}^{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}}}{2m_\mu }}i\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0}\right)}},`$ (2.3)
such as the Fourier transform of the wave function of the electron in $`M^0`$ reads

$`\mathrm{\Phi }(\stackrel{}{p})={\displaystyle \frac{8\sqrt{\pi a_0^3}}{(1+p^2a_0^2)^2}},`$
where $`a_0=1/m_e\alpha `$ with $`\alpha =e^2/4\pi `$ is the fine structure constant defined in units $`\mathrm{}=c=1`$.

Taking into account the diagrams in Fig.1 and using the vertex (2.3), we obtain the amplitude of the reaction (2.1) with $`e^{}`$ in the following form

$`M={\displaystyle \frac{(4\pi \alpha )^2}{q^2}}\mathrm{\Psi }(0)\mathrm{}_\nu {\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{m_\mu }}{m_e(\omega ^22qk)^2(q^22qk)}}\overline{u}(p_1^{})\gamma _5\{2(2qk\omega ^2)(qp_1^{}\gamma _\mu `$
$`\widehat{q}p_{1\mu }^{})+m_\mu [(q^22qk)(2p_{1\mu }^{}\gamma _\mu \widehat{q})(\omega ^22qk)(\widehat{q}\gamma _\mu 2k_\mu )]\}u(p_1),`$ (2.4)
where $`m_e`$ and $`m_\mu `$ are masses of the electron and $`\mu `$–meson, respectively, $`\omega ^2=(p_1^{}+k)^2`$ is the squared invariant mass of $`(M^0,\mu ^{})`$ system, $`\mathrm{}_\mu `$ is the electromagnetic current of the nucleus, and $`\mathrm{\Psi }(0)=1/\sqrt{\pi a_0^3}`$.

The squared amplitude would involve the tensor $`R_{\mu \nu }`$ describing the lower block of the diagrams in Fig.1 containing the electromagnetic form factors of the nucleus $`F_{1Z}`$ and $`F_{2Z}`$:

$`R_{\mu \nu }=4\{F_{1Z}^2(q^2)[2p_{2\mu }p_{2\nu }(p_{2\mu }q_\nu +p_{2\nu }q_\mu )+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}q^2g_{\mu \nu }]`$
$`+F_{2Z}^2(q^2)[2q^2m_Z^2g_{\mu \nu }+q^2(p_{2\mu }q_\nu +p_{2\nu }q_\mu )q_\mu q_\nu ({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}q^2+2m_Z^2)2q^2p_{2\mu }p_{2\nu }]\}.`$ (2.5)
Let us introduce $`x=\mathrm{cos}\theta `$, where $`\theta `$ is a polar angle of the momentum of $`M^0`$ defined in the center of mass frame (CMF) of the system $`(M^0,\mu ^{})`$ relative to the momentum of the electron in the CMF $`(e^{},Z)`$. Using Eqs.(2) and (2) one can easily get the differential cross section with respect to $`\omega ^2`$ and $`x`$ which reads

$`{\displaystyle \frac{d^2\sigma }{d\omega ^2dx}}`$ $`=`$ $`4F_{1Z}^2(0)|\mathrm{\Psi }(0)|^2\pi \alpha ^4{\displaystyle \frac{m_\mu }{m_e^2}}\sqrt{1{\displaystyle \frac{4m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}}\mathrm{}n\left({\displaystyle \frac{s^3}{m_Z^2\omega ^4}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{1}{1+x\sqrt{1{\displaystyle \frac{4m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}}}}`$ (2.6)
$`\times {\displaystyle \frac{s\omega ^2}{s\omega ^6}}\left\{1+{\displaystyle \frac{8m_\mu ^2\sqrt{1{\displaystyle \frac{4m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}}\left[(1x^2)\sqrt{1{\displaystyle \frac{4m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}}+2x\right]}{\omega ^2\left[1x^2\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{4m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}\right)\right]\left(1x\sqrt{1{\displaystyle \frac{4m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}}\right)^2}}\right\},`$
where $`F_{1Z}(0)=Z`$. The expression (2.6) is calculated within the Weizsäcker–Williams approach. One can see from Eq.(2.6) that in the CMF ($`M^0,\mu ^{}`$) the muonium produces itself mainly backward. After the integration of (2.6) over $`x`$ one obtains the differential cross section with respect to $`\omega ^2`$:

$`{\displaystyle \frac{d\sigma }{d\omega ^2}}=2Z^2\alpha ^7\left({\displaystyle \frac{m_e}{m_\mu }}\right)\sqrt{1{\displaystyle \frac{4m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}}\mathrm{}n\left({\displaystyle \frac{s^3}{m_Z^2\omega ^4}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{s\omega ^2}{s\omega ^4}}\{112{\displaystyle \frac{m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}`$
$`+[4\left({\displaystyle \frac{m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}\right)^2(16{\displaystyle \frac{m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}})+2{\displaystyle \frac{m_\mu ^2}{\omega ^2}}]{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{14m_\mu ^2/\omega ^2}}}\mathrm{}n{\displaystyle \frac{1+\sqrt{14m_\mu ^2/\omega ^2}}{1\sqrt{14m_\mu ^2/\omega ^2}}}\}.`$ (2.7)
From Eq.(2) one gets that the maximum of the cross section is located in the vicinity of the threshold of the $`(M^0,\mu ^{})`$–system production, $`\omega ^24m_\mu ^2`$, and the quantity $`d\sigma /d\omega ^2`$ falls substantially with $`\omega ^2`$ and behaves like $`d\sigma /d\omega ^21/\omega ^4`$.

Let us now obtain the total cross section of the reactions (2.1). For this aim we introduce a variable $`\xi =4m_\mu ^2/\omega ^2`$ and integrate (2) over $`\xi `$. This yields

$`\sigma =\left({\displaystyle \frac{Z^2\alpha ^7m_e}{16m_\mu ^3}}\right){\displaystyle \underset{0}{\overset{1}{}}}f(\xi )𝑑\xi ,`$
$`f(\xi )=\mathrm{}n\left({\displaystyle \frac{s^3\xi ^2}{16m_Z^2m_\mu ^4}}\right)\{2(43\xi ^2)\sqrt{1\xi }+\xi (4+2\xi \xi ^2)\mathrm{}n\left({\displaystyle \frac{1+\sqrt{1\xi }}{1\sqrt{1\xi }}}\right)\}.`$ (2.8)
Let us estimate the values of the cross sections for the reactions (2.1) for Tevatron–DIS (FNAL)  and LHC  (we mean the beams of daughter leptons). The cross section is proportional to $`Z^2`$. Hence, it can be enhanced by using the target with a big $`Z`$ , for example, Radon $`{}_{}{}^{220}\mathrm{Rn}_{86}^{}`$ having a spin $`1/2`$. The values of the cross sections, different luminosities and an expected number of events for one year are adduced in Table.

Table. The data for the cross sections for the reactions (2.1) and the expected number of events for one year.

| Accelerator | $`\sqrt{s}`$, GeV | $`\sigma `$, fb | L, $`\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$ | N |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FNAL (Tevatron–DIS) | 477 | 17 | $`2.1\times 10^{32}`$ | $`1.1\times 10^2`$ |
| LHC | 14000 | 28 | $`10^{33}10^{34}`$ | $`8.8\times 10^28.8\times 10^3`$ |

## 3 Method of detection and estimate of admixture of excited states of muonium and antimuonim

Let us consider the method of the detection of the muonium $`M^0`$ and antimuonium $`\overline{M}^0`$. For the reactions (2.1) $`M^0`$ and $`\overline{M}^0`$ would be production both in the ground state and in the excited one as well

$`\mathrm{\Psi }_{M^0}(0)=C_1\mathrm{\Psi }_1(0)+C_2\mathrm{\Psi }_2(0).`$ (3.1)
Emphasize that the solution of the Bethe–Salpeter equation (2.3) has been obtained for the production of the muonium in the ground state. The mechanisms of the production of an excited muonium, from which there follows that the coefficient $`C_2`$ contains an additional small parameter, would be discussed below. Taking into account the decay of muonium, the partial width of which we denote as $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{M^0}`$, one can represent the wave function of muonium in the form

$`\mathrm{\Psi }_{M^0}(t)=\left(C_1\mathrm{\Psi }_1(t)+C_2\mathrm{\Psi }_2(t)\right)\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Gamma }_{M^0}t}{2\mathrm{}}}\right).`$ (3.2)
Here $`\mathrm{\Psi }_1(t)`$ and $`\mathrm{\Psi }_2(t)`$ are defined by

$`\mathrm{\Psi }_1(t)=\mathrm{\Psi }_1\mathrm{exp}({\displaystyle \frac{i}{\mathrm{}}}E_1t),\mathrm{\Psi }_2(t)=\mathrm{\Psi }_2\mathrm{exp}({\displaystyle \frac{i}{\mathrm{}}}E_2t),`$ (3.3)
where $`E_1`$ and $`E_2`$ are the energies of muonium in the ground and excited states, then $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{M^0}=\mathrm{}/\tau _{M^0}`$ with $`\tau _{M^0}10^6sec`$ is the mean life of muonium.

Taking into account that the wave function of muonium is normalized to the current density and introducing the power of the polarization $`\epsilon =|C_2|^2/|C_1+C_2|^2`$, it is not difficult to calculate the current density of $`M^0`$ at an arbitrary time $`t`$ :

$`I(t)=I_0\left\{12\sqrt{\epsilon }(1\sqrt{\epsilon })\left[1\mathrm{cos}\left({\displaystyle \frac{E_2E_1}{\mathrm{}}}t\right)\right]\right\}\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Gamma }_{M^0}t}{\mathrm{}}}\right).`$ (3.4)
It is seen that the decay curve $`I(t)`$ depicted in Fig.3 contains oscillations. Let us estimate the period of oscillations (the distance on which the curve in Fig.3 contains only one oscillation in time). Using (3.4), denoting $`\omega =(E_2E_1)/\mathrm{}=2\pi /T`$ and accounting for that $`E_2E_1=10.1\mathrm{eV}`$ one obtains $`T4\times 10^{16}`$s. When matching $`T`$ with $`\tau _{M^0}`$ one can see that the period of oscillations in time is smaller compared with $`\tau _{M^0}`$ by ten orders of magnitude. The former means that in Fig.3 there should be a lot of oscillations for the mean life of $`M^0`$.

Since muonium produces in the reaction (2.1) with $`E_{M^0}m_{M^0}c^2`$, for example, for Tevatron–DIS one gets $`E_{M^0}225\mathrm{MeV}`$, so $`T_{\mathrm{}ab}=T(E_{M^0}/m_{M^0}c^2)10^{12}\mathrm{s}`$. For this time muonium should be moved for the distance comeasurable with a space period of oscillations equal to approximately 300$`mkm`$. Effects on such distances are measurable.

Let us estimate the value of $`\epsilon `$ defining the contribution of the wave function $`\mathrm{\Psi }_2`$ to the formula (3.2) due to the production of muonium at the excited state $`M^0`$. There are two mechanisms of the production of $`M^0`$: (i) the production at the vertex of recombination $`e^{}+\mu ^+M^0`$ in the diagrams in Fig.1 and (ii) interaction in the final state when $`M^0`$ rescatters inelastically by either $`\mu ^{}`$ or the nucleus. Consider the first mechanism. Let $`M^0`$ be produced at the $`2{}_{}{}^{1}\mathrm{S}_{0}^{}`$–state. In this case the equality (2.3) would contain $`\mathrm{\Phi }(\stackrel{}{p})`$ defined by

$`\mathrm{\Phi }(\stackrel{}{p})={\displaystyle \frac{32\sqrt{2\pi a_0^3}(14\stackrel{}{p}^{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}}a_0^2)}{(1+4\stackrel{}{p}^{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}}a_0^2)^3}},`$ (3.5)
where $`a_0`$ has been determined above and $`\mathrm{\Psi }(0)=1/\sqrt{8\pi a_0^3}`$. This leads to the value $`\epsilon =1/256`$ which means that the admixture of the excited state $`\mathrm{\Psi }_2`$ in Eq.(3.2) is of order $`10\%`$. In the case of the $`M^0`$ production at one of the $`2P`$–states the value of $`\epsilon `$ turns out to be of the same order. The second mechanism gives a contribution substantially less.

Thus, a comparison of the decay curves of muonium and antimuonium for a few periods of oscillations should give a possibility to check whether there exists CPT–invariance for bound states in QED.