Publication Numbers: 12.
Two dimensional lattice gas models provide an
excellent
laboratory for the study of systems driven out
of equilibrium
by an external field.
In spite of their simplicity,
these models
can capture the essential features of complex
dynamical systems.
They exhibit interesting phenomena
such as dynamical phase transitions and the formation
of complex
spatial patterns.
In a pioneering paper we introduced a set of
deterministic cellular automaton models, which
describe traffic
flow. We observed a first order dynamical phase
transition from
a low density dynamical phase to a high density
static phase
[12].
This paper has attracted enormous attention
and opened a new field of study in which
cellular automata are employed to simulate automobile
traffic
in cities and freeways as well as pedestrian
traffic.
This approach now allows the real time simulation
of traffic
flow in an entire city and provides an excellent
practical tool.
Much of the recent success of the field of traffic
flow simulations is
due to physicists who have made it their main
field of research.
I decided to maintain my focus on fundamental
physics problems
such as self-organization
and dynamics in non-equilibrium systems
(see Sec. I above).