Comparison of Non-deterministic Linear Systems by $(\gamma,\delta)$-Similarity

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new measure called $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity for comparing stable linear systems based on their input-output behavior, enabling better analysis and synthesis of interconnected systems.

Contribution

It defines $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity as a behavioral approximation measure, characterizes it via linear matrix inequalities, and demonstrates its compositional properties for system analysis.

Findings

$(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity can be characterized by LMIs.

The measure is preserved under series and feedback interconnections.

Application demonstrated on an electrical network example.

Abstract

We introduce $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity, a notion of system comparison that measures to what extent two stable linear dynamical systems behave similarly in an input-output sense. This behavioral similarity is characterized by measuring the sensitivity of the difference between the two output trajectories in terms of the external inputs to the two potentially non-deterministic systems. As such, $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity is a notion that characterizes \emph{approximation} of input-output behavior, whereas existing notions of simulation target equivalence. Next, as this approximation is specified in terms of the $L_2$ signal norm, $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity allows for integration with existing methods for analysis and synthesis of control systems, in particular, robust control techniques. We characterize the notion of $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity as a linear matrix inequality feasibility problem and derive its interpretation in terms of transfer matrices. Our study on the compositional properties of $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity shows that the notion is preserved through series and feedback interconnections. This highlights its potential application in compositional reasoning, namely abstraction and modular synthesis of large-scale interconnected dynamical systems. We further illustrate our results in an electrical network example.