2007-08 Catalog: Control & Dynamical Systems

Research in control and dynamical systems, supervised by a Caltech faculty member. The topic selection is determined by the adviser and the student and is subject to approval by the CDS faculty. First and second terms: midterm progress report and oral presentation during finals week. Third term: completion of thesis and final presentation. Not offered on a pass/fail basis.

An introduction to feedback and control in physical, biological, engineering, and information sciences. Basic principles of feedback and its use as a tool for altering the dynamics of systems and managing uncertainty. Key themes throughout the course will include input/output response, modeling and model reduction, linear vs. nonlinear models, and local vs. global behavior. This course is taught concurrently with CDS 110 a, but is intended for students who are interested primarily in the concepts and tools of control theory and not the analytical techniques for design and synthesis of control systems.

This course teaches basic concepts in mathematics and dynamics that are required for CDS 110 and CDS 140. It is intended as a tutorial for nonmajors who plan to do further course work in CDS but may not have adequate preparation in linear algebra and ordinary differential equations. Topics to be covered include linear ODEs in one variable, linear algebra, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, coupled linear ODEs, stability of OEDs. Extensive use of examples based on modeling of physical, biological, and information systems using differential equations and linear algebra.

An introduction to analysis and design of feedback control systems, including classical control theory in the time and frequency domain. Modeling of physical, biological, and information systems using linear and nonlinear differential equations. Stability and performance of interconnected systems, including use of block diagrams, Bode plots, the Nyquist criterion, and Lyapunov functions. Robustness and uncertainty management in feedback systems through stochastic and deterministic methods. Introductory random processes, Kalman filtering, and norms of signals and systems. The first term of this course is taught concurrently with CDS 101, but includes additional lectures, reading, and homework that is focused on analytical techniques for design and synthesis of control systems.

Basics in topics in dynamics in Euclidean space, including equilibria, stability, Lyapunov functions, periodic solutions, Poincaré-Bendixon theory, Poincaré maps. Attractors and structural stability. The Euler-Lagrange equations, mechanical systems, small oscillations, dissipation, energy as a Lyapunov function, conservation laws. Introduction to simple bifurcations and eigenvalue crossing conditions. Discussion of bifurcations in applications, invariant manifolds, the method of averaging, Melnikov's method, and the Smale horseshoe.

Research project in control and dynamical systems, supervised by a CDS faculty member.

Invariant subspaces, Jordan form, Cayley-Hamilton theorem, matrix exponential, singular value decomposition, some Banach and Hilbert spaces, operators, duals, adjoints, induced norms, and spectral theory. Calculus in linear spaces, the inverse and implicit function theorems. Taught concurrently with AM 125 a.

Basic differential geometry, oriented toward applications in control and dynamical systems. Topics include smooth manifolds and mappings, tangent and normal bundles. Vector fields and flows. Distributions and Frobenius's theorem. Matrix Lie groups and Lie algebras. Exterior differential forms, Stokes' theorem.

Introduction to modern control systems with emphasis on the role of control in overall system analysis and design. Examples drawn from throughout engineering and science. Open versus closed loop control. State-space methods, time and frequency domain, stability and stabilization, realization theory. Time-varying and nonlinear models. Uncertainty and robustness.

Linear systems, realization theory, time and frequency response, norms and performance, stochastic noise models, robust stability and performance, linear fractional transformations, structured uncertainty, optimal control, model reduction, m analysis and synthesis, real parametric uncertainty, Kharitonov's theorem, uncertainty modeling.

Topics dependent on class interests and instructor. May be repeated for credit.

The course will explore applications of tools from CDS to new problem domains. The course is organized around small teams consisting of CDS and non-CDS students who work on projects of mutual interest in some faculty member's research area. A final project report and short presentation are required. May be repeated for credit.

Topics will vary according to student and instructor interest. Examples include chaotic transport theory, invariant manifold techniques, multidimensional geometric perturbation theory, the dynamics of coupled oscillators, rigid-body dynamics, numerical methods in dynamical systems theory. May be repeated for credit.

Research in the field of control and dynamical systems. By arrangement with members of the staff, properly qualified graduate students are directed in research.