arXiv subjects

Xiaoqian Gong

Publications and source records attributed to Xiaoqian Gong.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Optimal Control of Traveler Testing in Epidemic Models

We propose an optimal control framework for mitigating cross-border epidemic spread through testing of incoming travelers. The general model considers multiple countries with SEIR dynamics, while the explicit analysis focuses on a simplified two country SIR system without vaccination. The control variable is a time measurable function representing the testing rate. For the two country SIR case, we show the optimal control is bang bang by excluding singular arcs via Hamiltonian analysis and derive the optimal switching time. Our results offer theoretical insights and practical guidelines for designing cost effective border testing policies. We then present numerical simulations for the optimal control in the two population setting.

math.OC↗

arXiv2026

Systems of nonlocal conservation laws: well-posedness and the singular limit for a nonlocal generalized Aw-Rascle-Zhang model

In this paper, we study a system of nonlocal conservation laws motivated by traffic flow: a nonlocal version of the generalized Aw-Rascle-Zhang (GARZ) model. The nonlocality arises from downstream spatial averaging of the velocity by a one-sided kernel. We prove the existence and uniqueness of weak solutions for initial data of bounded variation via a fixed-point argument in the nonlocal velocity. We also establish stability with respect to the initial datum and an approximation of weak solutions by strong solutions in $L^1$. Under additional, physically meaningful assumptions on the velocity and the initial datum, we obtain either a maximum principle for the density or invariant-region estimates. Finally, we study the singular limit as the nonlocal kernel converges to a Dirac distribution. Indeed, under additional assumptions, convergence to the unique local entropy solution can be proved. Some numerical simulations are provided, and the paper concludes with a discussion of open problems.

math.AP↗

arXiv2026

The incremental voter model: mean-field analysis and convergence to equilibrium

We introduce the incremental voter model (IVM), a discrete-opinion multi-agent system where agents undergo step-wise transitions biased by the opinion of a randomly selected persuader. Our incremental voter model comprises a large population of interacting agents, each holding an opinion represented by an element of the discrete set $\{-k,\ldots,0,\ldots,k\}, k \in \mathbb{N}_{+}$. At each update step as time progresses, a pair of distinct agents are selected independently and uniformly at random from the population, and the first agent (viewed as the ``listener'') updates its opinion based on that of the second (viewed as the ``persuader''), adopting a new opinion that differs from its current one by at most one unit. By deriving the mean-field system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) that governs the large-population limit of the agent-based model, we develop a rigorous mathematical framework to study the asymptotic behavior of the opinion distribution in the mean-field limit. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of social influence processes in complex systems, particularly in modeling opinion polarization, and may guide the formulation of more advanced models in future research.

cs.MA↗

arXiv2026

Existence and uniqueness of nonlocal nonlinear conservation laws via fixed-point methods

We investigate the well-posedness of scalar conservation laws whose flux depends on the solution both pointwise and nonlocally through integral averages. Our analysis is based on a fixed-point formulation, in which the nonlocal dependence is incorporated as a space- and time-dependent component of the flux, together with classical stability estimates for entropy solutions. This framework unifies and extends several models previously considered in the literature and applies, in particular, to conservation laws with memory effects (nonlocality in time) or delay. We prove the existence and uniqueness of weak entropy solutions on a sufficiently short time horizon and show that under additional assumptions, existence and uniqueness can be obtained on any finite time horizon. In addition, we present numerical simulations to illustrate the qualitative effects of memory on the solution dynamics.

math.AP↗

arXiv2026

Analysis of the long-term behavior of the "Bando--follow-the-leader'' car-following model

In this article, we investigate the long-term behavior of the ``Bando--follow-the-leader'' car-following model, whose well-posedness and stability with respect to delay were analyzed in a recent work \cite{gong2023well}. We first establish the collision-free property of the model with $N+1\in\N_{\geq2}$ vehicles over an infinite time horizon, assuming that the trajectory of the first vehicle is prescribed, by demonstrating the existence of a uniform strictly positive lower bound on the space headway between adjacent vehicles. Furthermore, assuming that the first vehicle travels at a constant velocity and $N\in\N_{\geq1}$ vehicles follow it according to the Bando--follow-the-leader model on a single lane, our main results state that, with certain reasonable constraints imposed on the modeling parameters, all $N$ following vehicles will eventually (i.e., when time goes to infinity) converge to the same headway and velocity with a globally exponential convergence rate. The analytical methods are based on Lyapunov functions and a perturbation argument. Numerical simulations are also provided to illustrate the obtained theoretical convergence guarantees.

math.CA↗

arXiv2026

Properties of Measure Controls and Their Trajectories

This paper deals with the concepts of measure controls and of measure vector fields, within the mathematical framework of measure differential equations (MDEs), recently proposed in~\cite{piccoli_measure_2019}. Measure controls can be seen as a generalization of relaxed control. Moreover, they are particularly suitable for studying dynamics with uncertainty. The main results of this paper include establishing the existence and well-posedness of control systems with measure controls and proving the equivalence between measure controls and measure vector fields. The stability and closure properties of the trajectory set are also studied.

math.OC↗

arXiv2025

Hybrid multi-population traffic flow model: Optimal control for a mean-field limit

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.

math.OC↗

arXiv2025

Optimal Control of ODE Car-Following Models: Applications to Mixed-Autonomy Platoon Control via Coupled Autonomous Vehicles

In this paper, we study the optimal control of a mixed-autonomy platoon driving on a single lane to smooth traffic flow. The platoon consists of autonomous vehicles, whose acceleration is controlled, and human-driven vehicles, whose behavior is described using a microscopic car-following model. We formulate the optimal control problem where the dynamics of the platoon are describing through a system of non-linear ODEs, with explicit constraints on both the state and the control variables. Theoretically, we analyze the well-posedness of the system dynamics under a reasonable set of admissible controls and establish the existence of minimizers for the optimal control problem. To solve the problem numerically, we propose a gradient descent-based algorithm that leverages the adjoint method, along with a penalty approach to handle state constraints. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed numerical scheme through several experiments, exploring various scenarios with different penetration rates and distributions of controlled vehicles within the platoon.

math.OC↗

arXiv2024

Post Clifford semigroups, the Yang-Baxter equation, relative Rota--Baxter Clifford semigroups and dual weak left braces

As generalizations of Rota--Baxter groups, Rota--Baxter Clifford semigroups have been introduced by Catino, Mazzotta and Stefanelli in 2023. Based on their pioneering results, in this paper we first continue to study Rota--Baxter Clifford semigroups. Inspired by the corresponding results in Rota--Baxter groups, we firstly obtain some properties and construction methods for Rota--Baxter Clifford semigroups, and then study the substructures and quotient structures of these semigroups. On the other hand, as generalizations of post-groups, Rota--Baxter Clifford semigroups and braided groups, in this paper we introduce and investigate post Clifford semigroups, relative Rota--Baxter Clifford semigroups and braided Clifford semigroups, respectively. We prove that the categories of strong post Clifford semigroups, dual weak left braces, bijective strong relative Rota-Baxter Clifford semigroups and braided Clifford semigroups are mutually pairwise equivalent, and the category of post Clifford semigroups is equivalent to the category of bijective relative Rota--Baxter Clifford semigroups, respectively. As a consequence, we prove that both post Clifford semigroups, relative Rota--Baxter Clifford semigroups and braided Clifford semigroups can provide set-theoretical solutions for the Yang--Baxter equation. The substructures and quotient structures of relative Rota--Baxter Clifford semigroups are also considered.

math.GR↗

arXiv2024

On the equivalence between Fourier-based and Wasserstein distances for probability measures on $\mathbb N$

In this manuscript we investigate the equivalence of Fourier-based metrics on discrete state spaces with the well-known Wasserstein distances. While the use of Fourier-based metrics in continuous state spaces is ubiquitous since its introduction by Giuseppe Toscani and his colleagues [9, 14, 16] in the study of kinetic-type partial differential equations, the introduction of its discrete analog is recent [2] and seems to be far less studied. In this work, various relations between Fourier-based metrics and Wasserstein distances are shown to hold when the state space is the set of non-negative integers $\mathbb N$. Lastly, we also describe potential applications of such equivalence of metrics in models from econophysics which motivate the present work.

math.PR↗

arXiv2024

Traffic Control via Connected and Automated Vehicles: An Open-Road Field Experiment with 100 CAVs

The CIRCLES project aims to reduce instabilities in traffic flow, which are naturally occurring phenomena due to human driving behavior. These "phantom jams" or "stop-and-go waves,"are a significant source of wasted energy. Toward this goal, the CIRCLES project designed a control system referred to as the MegaController by the CIRCLES team, that could be deployed in real traffic. Our field experiment leveraged a heterogeneous fleet of 100 longitudinally-controlled vehicles as Lagrangian traffic actuators, each of which ran a controller with the architecture described in this paper. The MegaController is a hierarchical control architecture, which consists of two main layers. The upper layer is called Speed Planner, and is a centralized optimal control algorithm. It assigns speed targets to the vehicles, conveyed through the LTE cellular network. The lower layer is a control layer, running on each vehicle. It performs local actuation by overriding the stock adaptive cruise controller, using the stock on-board sensors. The Speed Planner ingests live data feeds provided by third parties, as well as data from our own control vehicles, and uses both to perform the speed assignment. The architecture of the speed planner allows for modular use of standard control techniques, such as optimal control, model predictive control, kernel methods and others, including Deep RL, model predictive control and explicit controllers. Depending on the vehicle architecture, all onboard sensing data can be accessed by the local controllers, or only some. Control inputs vary across different automakers, with inputs ranging from torque or acceleration requests for some cars, and electronic selection of ACC set points in others. The proposed architecture allows for the combination of all possible settings proposed above. Most configurations were tested throughout the ramp up to the MegaVandertest.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2022

Modeling the Role of Land Conversion on the Spread of an Epizootic Disease

Land conversion and the resulting contact between domesticated and wild species has arguably been the single largest contributor to the emergence of novel epizootic and zoonotic diseases in the past century. An unintended consequence of these interactions is zoonotic or epizootic disease spillovers from wild species to humans and their domesticates. Disease spillovers are edge effects of land conversion and are sensitive to the size and shape of converted areas. We combine spatial metrics from landscape ecology with theoretical epidemiological models to understand how the size and shape of land conversion affect epizootic and zoonotic disease transmission of single and two species populations. We show that the less compact the converted area, and the the greater the depth of the contact zone, the more rapidly will an introduced disease spread through the domesticated population.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2022

A rigorous multi-population multi-lane hybrid traffic model and its mean-field limit for dissipation of waves via autonomous vehicles

In this paper, a multi-lane multi-population microscopic model, which presents stop and go waves, is proposed to simulate traffic on a ring-road. Vehicles are divided between human-driven and autonomous vehicles (AV). Control strategies are designed with the ultimate goal of using a small number of AVs (less than 5\% penetration rate) to represent Lagrangian control actuators that can smooth the multilane traffic flow and dissipate the stop-and-go waves. This in turn may reduce fuel consumption and emissions. The lane-changing mechanism is based on three components that we treat as parameters in the model: safety, incentive and cool-down time. The choice of these parameters in the lane-change mechanism is critical to modeling traffic accurately, because different parameter values can lead to drastically different traffic behaviors. In particular, the number of lane-changes and the speed variance are highly affected by the choice of parameters. Despite this modeling issue, when using sufficiently simple and robust controllers for AVs, the stabilization of uniform flow steady-state is effective for any realistic value of the parameters, and ultimately bypasses the observed modeling issue. Our approach is based on accurate and rigorous mathematical models, which allows a limit procedure that is termed, in gas dynamic terminology, mean-field. In simple words, from increasing the human-driven population to infinity, a system of coupled ordinary and partial differential equations are obtained. Moreover, control problems also pass to the limit, allowing the design to be tackled at different scales.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2022

Limitations and Improvements of the Intelligent Driver Model (IDM)

This contribution analyzes the widely used and well-known "intelligent driver model (briefly IDM), which is a second order car-following model governed by a system of ordinary differential equations. Although this model was intensively studied in recent years for properly capturing traffic phenomena and driver braking behavior, a rigorous study of the well-posedness has, to our knowledge, never been performed. First it is shown that, for a specific class of initial data, the vehicles' velocities become negative or even diverge to $-\infty$ in finite time, both undesirable properties for a car-following model. Various modifications of the IDM are then proposed in order to avoid such ill-posedness. The theoretical remediation of the model, rather than post facto by ad-hoc modification of code implementations, allows a more sound numerical implementation and preservation of the model features. Indeed, to avoid inconsistencies and ensure dynamics close to the one of the original model, one may need to inspect and clean large input data, which may result in practically impossible scenarios for large-scale simulations. Although well-posedness issues occur only for specific initial data, this may happen frequently when different traffic scenarios are analyzed, and especially in presence of lane-changing, on ramps and other network components as it is the case for most commonly used micro-simulators. On the other side, it is shown that well-posedness can be guaranteed by straight-forward improvements, such as those obtained by slightly changing the acceleration to prevent the velocity from becoming negative.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2022

A measure model for the spread of viral infections with mutations

Genetic variations in the COVID-19 virus are one of the main causes of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020 and 2021. In this article, we aim to introduce a new type of model, a system coupled with ordinary differential equations (ODEs), and measure differential equation (MDE), stemming from the classical SIR model for the variants distribution. Specifically, we model the evolution of susceptible $S$ and removed $R$ populations by ODEs and the infected $I$ population by an MDE comprised of a probability vector field (PVF) and a source term. In addition, the ODEs for $S$ and $R$ contain terms that are related to the measure $I$. We establish analytically the well-posedness of the coupled ODE-MDE system by using generalized Wasserstein distance. We give two examples to show that the proposed ODE-MDE model coincides with the classical SIR model in the case of constant or time-dependent

math.AP↗

arXiv2021

Mean-field limit of a hybrid system for multi-lane multi-class traffic

This article aims to study coupled mean-field equation and ODEs with discrete events motivated by vehicular traffic flow. Precisely, multi-lane traffic flow in presence of human-driven and autonomous vehicles is considered, with the autonomous vehicles possibly influenced by external policy makers. First a finite-dimensional hybrid system is developed based on the continuous Bando-Follow-the-Leader dynamics coupled with discrete events due to lane-change maneuvers. Then the mean-field limit of the finite-dimensional hybrid system is rigorously derived for the dynamics of the human-driven vehicles. The microscopic lane-change maneuvers of the human-driven vehicles generates a source term to the mean-field PDE. This leads to an infinite-dimensional hybrid system, which is described by coupled Vlasov-type PDE, ODEs and discrete events.

math.AP↗

arXiv2021

Integrated Framework of Vehicle Dynamics, Instabilities, Energy Models, and Sparse Flow Smoothing Controllers

This work presents an integrated framework of: vehicle dynamics models, with a particular attention to instabilities and traffic waves; vehicle energy models, with particular attention to accurate energy values for strongly unsteady driving profiles; and sparse Lagrangian controls via automated vehicles, with a focus on controls that can be executed via existing technology such as adaptive cruise control systems. This framework serves as a key building block in developing control strategies for human-in-the-loop traffic flow smoothing on real highways. In this contribution, we outline the fundamental merits of integrating vehicle dynamics and energy modeling into a single framework, and we demonstrate the energy impact of sparse flow smoothing controllers via simulation results.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2019

Weak Measure-Valued Solutions of a Nonlinear Hyperbolic Conservation Law

We revisit a well-established model for highly re-entrant semi-conductor manufacturing systems, and analyze it in the setting of states, in- and outfluxes being Borel measures. This is motivated by the lack of optimal solutions in the L1-setting for transitions from a smaller to a larger equilibrium with zero backlog. Key innovations involve dealing with discontinuous velocities in the presence of point masses, and a finite domain with in- and outfluxes. Taking a Lagrangian point of view, we establish existence and uniqueness of solutions, and formulate a notion of weak solution. We prove continuity of the flow with respect to time (and almost also with respect to the initial state). Due to generally discontinuous velocities, these delicate regularity results hold only with respect to carefully crafted semi-norms that are modifications of the flat norm. Generally. the solution is not continuous with respect to any norm on the space of measures.

math.AP↗