Dimension Reduction Near Periodic Orbits of Hybrid Systems

When the Poincar\'{e} map associated with a periodic orbit of a hybrid dynamical system has constant-rank iterates, we demonstrate the existence of a constant-dimensional invariant subsystem near the orbit which attracts all nearby trajectories in finite time. This result shows that the long-term behavior of a hybrid model with a large number of degrees-of-freedom may be governed by a low-dimensional smooth dynamical system. The appearance of such simplified models enables the translation of analytical tools from smooth systems-such as Floquet theory-to the hybrid setting and provides a bridge between the efforts of biologists and engineers studying legged locomotion.Comment: Full version of conference paper appearing in IEEE CDC/ECC 201

Model Reduction Near Periodic Orbits of Hybrid Dynamical Systems

We show that, near periodic orbits, a class of hybrid models can be reduced to or approximated by smooth continuous-time dynamical systems. Specifically, near an exponentially stable periodic orbit undergoing isolated transitions in a hybrid dynamical system, nearby executions generically contract superexponentially to a constant-dimensional subsystem. Under a non-degeneracy condition on the rank deficiency of the associated Poincare map, the contraction occurs in finite time regardless of the stability properties of the orbit. Hybrid transitions may be removed from the resulting subsystem via a topological quotient that admits a smooth structure to yield an equivalent smooth dynamical system. We demonstrate reduction of a high-dimensional underactuated mechanical model for terrestrial locomotion, assess structural stability of deadbeat controllers for rhythmic locomotion and manipulation, and derive a normal form for the stability basin of a hybrid oscillator. These applications illustrate the utility of our theoretical results for synthesis and analysis of feedback control laws for rhythmic hybrid behavior

Aspects of Bifurcation Theory for Piecewise-Smooth, Continuous Systems

Systems that are not smooth can undergo bifurcations that are forbidden in smooth systems. We review some of the phenomena that can occur for piecewise-smooth, continuous maps and flows when a fixed point or an equilibrium collides with a surface on which the system is not smooth. Much of our understanding of these cases relies on a reduction to piecewise linearity near the border-collision. We also review a number of codimension-two bifurcations in which nonlinearity is important.Comment: pdfLaTeX, 9 figure

Unstable Attractors: Existence and Robustness in Networks of Oscillators With Delayed Pulse Coupling

We consider unstable attractors; Milnor attractors $A$ such that, for some neighbourhood $U$ of $A$, almost all initial conditions leave $U$. Previous research strongly suggests that unstable attractors exist and even occur robustly (i.e. for open sets of parameter values) in a system modelling biological phenomena, namely in globally coupled oscillators with delayed pulse interactions. In the first part of this paper we give a rigorous definition of unstable attractors for general dynamical systems. We classify unstable attractors into two types, depending on whether or not there is a neighbourhood of the attractor that intersects the basin in a set of positive measure. We give examples of both types of unstable attractor; these examples have non-invertible dynamics that collapse certain open sets onto stable manifolds of saddle orbits. In the second part we give the first rigorous demonstration of existence and robust occurrence of unstable attractors in a network of oscillators with delayed pulse coupling. Although such systems are technically hybrid systems of delay differential equations with discontinuous `firing' events, we show that their dynamics reduces to a finite dimensional hybrid system system after a finite time and hence we can discuss Milnor attractors for this reduced finite dimensional system. We prove that for an open set of phase resetting functions there are saddle periodic orbits that are unstable attractors.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures,submitted to Nonlinearit

Bifurcations of piecewise smooth flows:perspectives, methodologies and open problems

In this paper, the theory of bifurcations in piecewise smooth flows is critically surveyed. The focus is on results that hold in arbitrarily (but finitely) many dimensions, highlighting significant areas where a detailed understanding is presently lacking. The clearest results to date concern equilibria undergoing bifurcations at switching boundaries, and limit cycles undergoing grazing and sliding bifurcations. After discussing fundamental concepts, such as topological equivalence of two piecewise smooth systems, discontinuity-induced bifurcations are defined for equilibria and limit cycles. Conditions for equilibria to exist in n-dimensions are given, followed by the conditions under which they generically undergo codimension-one bifurcations. The extent of knowledge of their unfoldings is also summarized. Codimension-one bifurcations of limit cycles and boundary-intersection crossing are described together with techniques for their classification. Codimension-two bifurcations are discussed with suggestions for further study

Relative Periodic Solutions of the Complex Ginzburg-Landau Equation

A method of finding relative periodic orbits for differential equations with continuous symmetries is described and its utility demonstrated by computing relative periodic solutions for the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (CGLE) with periodic boundary conditions. A relative periodic solution is a solution that is periodic in time, up to a transformation by an element of the equation's symmetry group. With the method used, relative periodic solutions are represented by a space-time Fourier series modified to include the symmetry group element and are sought as solutions to a system of nonlinear algebraic equations for the Fourier coefficients, group element, and time period. The 77 relative periodic solutions found for the CGLE exhibit a wide variety of temporal dynamics, with the sum of their positive Lyapunov exponents varying from 5.19 to 60.35 and their unstable dimensions from 3 to 8. Preliminary work indicates that weighted averages over the collection of relative periodic solutions accurately approximate the value of several functionals on typical trajectories.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figure

Discrete Mechanics and Optimal Control Applied to the Compass Gait Biped

This paper presents a methodology for generating locally optimal control policies for simple hybrid mechanical systems, and illustrates the method on the compass gait biped. Principles from discrete mechanics are utilized to generate optimal control policies as solutions of constrained nonlinear optimization problems. In the context of bipedal walking, this procedure provides a comparative measure of the suboptimality of existing control policies. Furthermore, our methodology can be used as a control design tool; to demonstrate this, we minimize the specific cost of transport of periodic orbits for the compass gait biped, both in the fully actuated and underactuated case