Random matrices and the New York City subway system.

Jagannath, Aukosh; Trogdon, Thomas · Phys Rev E · 2017

Where this comes from

Abstract

We analyze subway arrival times in the New York City subway system. We find regimes where the gaps between trains are well modeled by (unitarily invariant) random matrix statistics and Poisson statistics. The departure from random matrix statistics is captured by the value of the Coulomb potential along the subway route. This departure becomes more pronounced as trains make more stops.