184 research outputs found
Controllability Metrics, Limitations and Algorithms for Complex Networks
This paper studies the problem of controlling complex networks, that is, the
joint problem of selecting a set of control nodes and of designing a control
input to steer a network to a target state. For this problem (i) we propose a
metric to quantify the difficulty of the control problem as a function of the
required control energy, (ii) we derive bounds based on the system dynamics
(network topology and weights) to characterize the tradeoff between the control
energy and the number of control nodes, and (iii) we propose an open-loop
control strategy with performance guarantees. In our strategy we select control
nodes by relying on network partitioning, and we design the control input by
leveraging optimal and distributed control techniques. Our findings show
several control limitations and properties. For instance, for Schur stable and
symmetric networks: (i) if the number of control nodes is constant, then the
control energy increases exponentially with the number of network nodes, (ii)
if the number of control nodes is a fixed fraction of the network nodes, then
certain networks can be controlled with constant energy independently of the
network dimension, and (iii) clustered networks may be easier to control
because, for sufficiently many control nodes, the control energy depends only
on the controllability properties of the clusters and on their coupling
strength. We validate our results with examples from power networks, social
networks, and epidemics spreading
Zero forcing sets and controllability of dynamical systems defined on graphs
In this paper, controllability of systems defined on graphs is discussed. We
consider the problem of controllability of the network for a family of matrices
carrying the structure of an underlying directed graph. A one-to-one
correspondence between the set of leaders rendering the network controllable
and zero forcing sets is established. To illustrate the proposed results,
special cases including path, cycle, and complete graphs are discussed.
Moreover, as shown for graphs with a tree structure, the proposed results of
the present paper together with the existing results on the zero forcing sets
lead to a minimal leader selection scheme in particular cases
On the reachability and observability of path and cycle graphs
In this paper we investigate the reachability and observability properties of
a network system, running a Laplacian based average consensus algorithm, when
the communication graph is a path or a cycle. More in detail, we provide
necessary and sufficient conditions, based on simple algebraic rules from
number theory, to characterize all and only the nodes from which the network
system is reachable (respectively observable). Interesting immediate
corollaries of our results are: (i) a path graph is reachable (observable) from
any single node if and only if the number of nodes of the graph is a power of
two, , and (ii) a cycle is reachable (observable) from
any pair of nodes if and only if is a prime number. For any set of control
(observation) nodes, we provide a closed form expression for the (unreachable)
unobservable eigenvalues and for the eigenvectors of the (unreachable)
unobservable subsystem
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