Normal forms and internal regularization of nonlinear differential-algebraic control systems

In this article, we propose two normal forms for nonlinear differential-algebraic control systems (DACSs) under external feedback equivalence, using a notion called maximal controlled invariant submanifold. The two normal forms simplify the system structures and facilitate understanding the various roles of variables for nonlinear DACSs. Moreover, we study when a given nonlinear DACS is internally regularizable, that is, when there exists a state feedback transforming the DACS into a differential-algebraic equation (DAE) with internal regularity, the latter notion is closely related to the existence and uniqueness of solutions of DAEs. We also revise a commonly used method in DAE solution theory, called the geometric reduction method. We apply this method to DACSs and formulate it as an algorithm, which is used to construct maximal controlled invariant submanifolds and to find internal regularization feedbacks. Two examples of mechanical systems are used to illustrate the proposed normal forms and to show how to internally regularize DACSs

An early history of T cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

After 60 years of intense fundamental research into T cell-mediated cytotoxicity, we have gained a detailed knowledge of the cells involved, specific recognition mechanisms and post-recognition perforin-granzyme-based and FAS-based molecular mechanisms. What could not be anticipated at the outset was how discovery of the mechanisms regulating the activation and function of cytotoxic T cells would lead to new developments in cancer immunotherapy. Given the profound recent interest in therapeutic manipulation of cytotoxic T cell responses, it is an opportune time to look back on the early history of the field. This Timeline describes how the early findings occurred and eventually led to current therapeutic applications

Asymptotic Tracking via Funnel Control

Funnel control is a powerful and simple method to solve the output tracking problem without the need of a good system model, without identification and without knowlegde how the reference signal is produced, but transient behavior as well as arbitrary good accuracy can be guaranteed. Until recently, it was believed that the price to pay for these very nice properties is that only practical tracking and not asymptotic tracking can be achieved. Surprisingly, this is not true! We will prove that funnel control - without any further assumptions - can achieve asymptotic tracking

Asymptotic Stability of Piecewise Affine Systems with Filippov Solutions via Discontinuous Piecewise Lyapunov Functions

Asymptotic stability of continuous-time piecewise affine systems defined over a polyhedral partition of the state space, with possible discontinuous vector field on the boundaries, is considered. In this article, the feasible Filippov solution concept is introduced by characterizing single-mode Caratheodory, sliding mode, and forward Zeno behaviors. Then, a global asymptotic stability result through a (possibly discontinuous) piecewise Lyapunov function is presented. The sufficient conditions are based on pointwise classifications of the trajectories which allow the identification of crossing, unreachable, and Caratheodory boundaries. It is shown that the sign and jump conditions of the stability theorem can be expressed in terms of linear matrix inequalities by particularizing to piecewise quadratic Lyapunov functions and using the cone-copositivity approach. Several examples illustrate the theoretical arguments and the effectiveness of the stability result

Topological solvability and index characterizations for a common DAE power system model

For the widely-used power system model consisting of the generator swing equations and the power flow equations resulting in a system of differential algebraic equations (DAEs), we introduce a sufficient and necessary solvability condition for the linearized model. This condition is based on the topological structure of the power system. Furthermore we show sufficient conditions for the linearized DAE-system and a nonlinear version of the model to have differentiation index equal to one

Water hammer modeling for water networks via hyperbolic PDEs and switched DAEs

In water distribution network instantaneous changes in valve and pump settings introduce jumps and sometimes impulses. In particular, a particular impulsive phenomenon which occurs due to sudden closing of valve is the so called water hammer. It is classically modeled as a system of hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs). We observed that under some suitable assumptions the PDEs usually used to describe water flows can be simplified to differential algebraic equations (DAEs). The idea is to model water hammer phenomenon in the switched DAEs framework due to its special feature of studying such impulsive effects. To compare these two modeling techniques, a system of hyperbolic PDE model and the switched DAE model for a simple set up consisting of two reservoirs, six pipes and three valve is presented. The aim of this contribution is to present results of both models as motivation for the claim that a switched DAE modeling framework is suitable for describing a water hammer

Synchronization with prescribed transient behavior: Heterogeneous multi-agent systems under funnel coupling Extended arXiv version

In this paper, we introduce a nonlinear time-varying coupling law, which can be designed in a fully decentralized manner and achieves approximate synchronization with arbitrary precision, under only mild assumptions on the individual vector fields and the underlying (undirected) graph structure. The proposed coupling law is motivated by the so-called funnel control method studied in adaptive control under the observation that arbitrary precision synchronization can be achieved for heterogeneous multi-agent systems by a high-gain coupling; consequently we call our novel synchronization method `(node-wise) funnel coupling.' By adjusting the conventional proof technique in the funnel control study, we are even able to obtain asymptotic synchronization with the same funnel coupling law. Moreover, the emergent collective behavior that arises for a heterogeneous multi-agent system when enforcing arbitrary precision synchronization by the proposed funnel coupling law, has been analyzed in this paper. In particular, we introduce a single scalar dynamics called `emergent dynamics' which describes the emergent synchronized behavior of the multi-agent system under funnel coupling. Characterization of the emergent dynamics is important because, for instance, one can design the emergent dynamics first such that the solution trajectory behaves as desired, and then, provide a design guideline to each agent so that the constructed vector fields yield the desired emergent dynamics. We illustrate this idea via the example of a distributed median solver based on funnel coupling

Utility of Edge-wise Funnel Coupling for Asymptotically Solving Distributed Consensus Optimization

A new approach to distributed consensus optimization is studied in this paper. The cost function to be minimized is a sum of local cost functions which are not necessarily convex as long as their sum is convex. This benefit is obtained from a recent observation that, with a large gain in the diffusive coupling, heterogeneous multi-agent systems behave like a single dynamical system whose vector field is simply the average of all agents' vector fields. However, design of the large coupling gain requires global information such as network structure and individual agent dynamics. In this paper, we employ a nonlinear time-varying coupling of diffusive type, which we call 'edge-wise funnel coupling.' This idea is borrowed from adaptive control, which enables decentralized design of distributed optimizers without knowledge of global information. Remarkably, without a common internal model, each agent achieves asymptotic consensus to the optimal solution of the global cost. We illustrate this result by a network that asymptotically finds the least-squares solution of a linear equation in a distributed manner