{"ID":2854638,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.14663","arxiv_id":"2510.14663","title":"Hybrid multi-population traffic flow model: Optimal control for a mean-field limit","abstract":"Modeling heterogeneous and multi-lane traffic flow is essential for understanding and controlling complex transportation systems. In this work, we consider three vehicle populations: two classes of human-driven vehicles (cars and trucks) and autonomous vehicles, the latter characterized by controlled acceleration. Compared to single-population models, multi-population modeling poses greater challenges, primarily due to the increased number of parameters required to describe lane-changing behavior and the added complexity in passing to the mean-field limit. We model multi-lane traffic as a hybrid dynamical system, combining continuous dynamics within each lane and discrete events corresponding to lane-changing maneuvers. We then formulate and analyze the optimal control problem associated with such hybrid systems from both microscopic and mesoscopic perspectives. Using techniques from $Γ$-convergence, we prove the existence of solutions to the optimal control problem in the mean-field limit of a finite-dimensional hybrid system. Finally, we present numerical simulations illustrating the impact of trucks on overall traffic efficiency.","short_abstract":"Modeling heterogeneous and multi-lane traffic flow is essential for understanding and controlling complex transportation systems. In this work, we consider three vehicle populations: two classes of human-driven vehicles (cars and trucks) and autonomous vehicles, the latter characterized by controlled acceleration. Comp...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.14663","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.14663v1","authors":"[\"Maria Teresa Chiri\",\"Christopher Denaro\",\"Xiaoqian Gong\",\"Benedetto Piccoli\"]","published":"2025-10-16T13:18:18Z","proceeding":"math.OC","tasks":"[\"math.OC\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}