Input-output properties of linearly-coupled dynamical systems: Interplay between local dynamics and network interactions

Abstract

A classical model for coupled dynamical systems with identical linear components and structured linear couplings is enhanced to capture measurement and actuation of by an external player. Input-output properties of the enhanced model - including observability and controllability, decentralized fixed modes, and output controllability - are determined in terms of the components' internal dynamics, the network's interconnection topology, and the structured interfaces between components. Further analyses are also developed for the special case that the components are subsystems, which are coupled only through their inputs and outputs. As an illustration, these structural characterizations are used to study the manipulation of a canonical multi-agent-system model, namely a double-integrator-network model, by an external player.