3,760 research outputs found
Differential Inequalities in Multi-Agent Coordination and Opinion Dynamics Modeling
Distributed algorithms of multi-agent coordination have attracted substantial
attention from the research community; the simplest and most thoroughly studied
of them are consensus protocols in the form of differential or difference
equations over general time-varying weighted graphs. These graphs are usually
characterized algebraically by their associated Laplacian matrices. Network
algorithms with similar algebraic graph theoretic structures, called being of
Laplacian-type in this paper, also arise in other related multi-agent control
problems, such as aggregation and containment control, target surrounding,
distributed optimization and modeling of opinion evolution in social groups. In
spite of their similarities, each of such algorithms has often been studied
using separate mathematical techniques. In this paper, a novel approach is
offered, allowing a unified and elegant way to examine many Laplacian-type
algorithms for multi-agent coordination. This approach is based on the analysis
of some differential or difference inequalities that have to be satisfied by
the some "outputs" of the agents (e.g. the distances to the desired set in
aggregation problems). Although such inequalities may have many unbounded
solutions, under natural graphic connectivity conditions all their bounded
solutions converge (and even reach consensus), entailing the convergence of the
corresponding distributed algorithms. In the theory of differential equations
the absence of bounded non-convergent solutions is referred to as the
equation's dichotomy. In this paper, we establish the dichotomy criteria of
Laplacian-type differential and difference inequalities and show that these
criteria enable one to extend a number of recent results, concerned with
Laplacian-type algorithms for multi-agent coordination and modeling opinion
formation in social groups.Comment: accepted to Automatic
Distributed Optimization: Convergence Conditions from a Dynamical System Perspective
This paper explores the fundamental properties of distributed minimization of
a sum of functions with each function only known to one node, and a
pre-specified level of node knowledge and computational capacity. We define the
optimization information each node receives from its objective function, the
neighboring information each node receives from its neighbors, and the
computational capacity each node can take advantage of in controlling its
state. It is proven that there exist a neighboring information way and a
control law that guarantee global optimal consensus if and only if the solution
sets of the local objective functions admit a nonempty intersection set for
fixed strongly connected graphs. Then we show that for any tolerated error, we
can find a control law that guarantees global optimal consensus within this
error for fixed, bidirectional, and connected graphs under mild conditions. For
time-varying graphs, we show that optimal consensus can always be achieved as
long as the graph is uniformly jointly strongly connected and the nonempty
intersection condition holds. The results illustrate that nonempty intersection
for the local optimal solution sets is a critical condition for successful
distributed optimization for a large class of algorithms
Opinion Dynamics in Social Networks with Hostile Camps: Consensus vs. Polarization
Most of the distributed protocols for multi-agent consensus assume that the
agents are mutually cooperative and "trustful," and so the couplings among the
agents bring the values of their states closer. Opinion dynamics in social
groups, however, require beyond these conventional models due to ubiquitous
competition and distrust between some pairs of agents, which are usually
characterized by repulsive couplings and may lead to clustering of the
opinions. A simple yet insightful model of opinion dynamics with both
attractive and repulsive couplings was proposed recently by C. Altafini, who
examined first-order consensus algorithms over static signed graphs. This
protocol establishes modulus consensus, where the opinions become the same in
modulus but may differ in signs. In this paper, we extend the modulus consensus
model to the case where the network topology is an arbitrary time-varying
signed graph and prove reaching modulus consensus under mild sufficient
conditions of uniform connectivity of the graph. For cut-balanced graphs, not
only sufficient, but also necessary conditions for modulus consensus are given.Comment: scheduled for publication in IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control,
2016, vol. 61, no. 7 (accepted in August 2015
The Total s-Energy of a Multiagent System
We introduce the "total s-energy" of a multiagent system with time-dependent
links. This provides a new analytical lens on bidirectional agreement dynamics,
which we use to bound the convergence rates of dynamical systems for
synchronization, flocking, opinion dynamics, and social epistemology
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