On differential passivity of physical systems

TL;DR

This paper explores the concept of differential passivity in physical systems, particularly in open gradient systems modeled via the Brayton-Moser formalism, to understand its restrictiveness and implications for interconnected system analysis.

Contribution

It investigates the restrictiveness of differential passivity in open gradient systems within the Brayton-Moser framework, providing insights into its applicability for physical system modeling.

Findings

Differential passivity can be characterized for open gradient systems.

The property is shown to be restrictive in certain classes of physical systems.

Implications for control and synchronization in interconnected systems are discussed.

Abstract

Differential passivity is a property that allows to check with a pointwise criterion that a system is incrementally passive, a property that is relevant to study interconnected systems in the context of regulation, synchronization, and estimation. The paper investigates how restrictive is the property, focusing on a class of open gradient systems encountered in the coenergy modeling framework of physical systems, in particular the Brayton-Moser formalism for nonlinear electrical circuits.