arXiv subjects

Karl Worthmann

Publications and source records attributed to Karl Worthmann.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2026

Towards Polynomial Immersion of Port-Hamiltonian Systems

Port-Hamiltonian (pH) systems offer a highly structured and energy-based modular framework for control systems. Many pH systems exhibit non-polynomial non-linearities. We consider the problem of immersing such systems into a higher-dimensional polynomial representation. We prove that, along system trajectories, important features of the non-polynomial pH system are preserved such as the internal interconnection geometry, the energy balance relation with passivity supply rate, as well as energy dissipation. We illustrate how the lifted system enables the design of stabilizing feedback laws by combining sum-of-squares optimization with concepts from passivity-based control. We draw upon several examples to illustrate our findings.

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arXiv2026

Data-driven Model Predictive Control: Asymptotic Stability despite Approximation Errors exemplified in the Koopman framework

In this paper, we analyze stability of nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) using data-driven surrogate models in the optimization step. First, we establish asymptotic stability of the origin, a controlled steady state, w.r.t. the MPC closed loop without stabilizing terminal conditions for sufficiently long prediction horizons. To this end, we prove that cost controllability of the original system is preserved if sufficiently accurate proportional bounds on the approximation error hold. Here, proportional refers to state and control. The proportionality of the error bounds is a key element to derive asymptotic stability in presence of modeling errors and not only practical asymptotic stability. Second, we exemplarily verify the imposed assumptions for data-driven surrogates generated with kernel extended dynamic mode decomposition based on Koopman operator theory. Hereby, we do not impose invariance assumptions on finite dictionaries, but rather derive all conditions under non-restrictive conditions. Finally, we demonstrate our findings with numerical simulations.

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arXiv2026

On Data-Driven Unbiased Predictors using the Koopman Operator

The Koopman operator and its data-driven approximations, such as extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD), are widely used for analysing, modelling, and controlling nonlinear dynamical systems. However, when the true Koopman eigenfunctions cannot be identified from finite data, multi-step predictions may suffer from structural inaccuracies and systematic bias. To address this issue, we analyse the first and second moments of the multi-step prediction residual. By decomposing the residual into contributions from the one-step approximation error and the propagation of accumulated inaccuracies, we derive a closed-form expression characterising these effects. This analysis enables the development of a novel and computationally efficient algorithm that enforces unbiasedness and reduces variance in the resulting predictor. The proposed method is validated in numerical simulations, showing improved uncertainty properties compared to standard EDMD. These results lay the foundation for uncertainty-aware and unbiased Koopman-based prediction frameworks that can be extended to controlled and stochastic systems.

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arXiv2026

Spatial exponential decay of perturbations in optimal control of general evolution equations

We analyze the robustness of optimally controlled evolution equations with respect to spatially localized perturbations. We prove that if the involved operators are domain-uniformly stabilizable and detectable, then these localized perturbations only have a local effect on the optimal solution. We characterize this domain-uniform stabilizability and detectability for the transport equation with constant transport velocity, showing that even for unitary semigroups, optimality implies exponential damping. We extend this result to the case of a space-dependent transport velocity. Finally we leverage the results for the transport equation to characterize domain-uniform stabilizability of the wave equation. Numerical examples in one space dimension complement the theoretical results.

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arXiv2025

Shaping the Koopman dictionary by learning on the Grassmannian

Extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD) is a powerful tool to construct linear predictors of nonlinear dynamical systems by approximating the action of the Koopman operator on a subspace spanned by finitely many observable functions. However, its accuracy heavily depends on the choice of the observables, which remains a challenge. We propose a systematic framework to identify and shape observable dictionaries, reduce projection errors, and achieve approximately invariant subspaces. To this end, we leverage optimisation on the Grassmann manifold and exploit inherent geometric properties for computational efficiency. Numerical results demonstrate improved prediction accuracy and efficiency. In conclusion, we propose a novel approach to efficiently shape the Koopman dictionary using differential-geometric concepts for optimisation on manifolds resulting in enhanced data-driven Koopman surrogates for nonlinear dynamical systems.

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arXiv2025

An overview of Koopman-based control: From error bounds to closed-loop guarantees

Controlling nonlinear dynamical systems remains a central challenge in a wide range of applications, particularly when accurate first-principle models are unavailable. Data-driven approaches offer a promising alternative by designing controllers directly from observed trajectories. A wide range of data-driven methods relies on the Koopman-operator framework that enables linear representations of nonlinear dynamics via lifting into higher-dimensional observable spaces. Finite-dimensional approximations, such as extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD) and its controlled variants, make prediction and feedback control tractable but introduce approximation errors that must be accounted for to provide rigorous closed-loop guarantees. This survey provides a systematic overview of Koopman-based control, emphasizing the connection between data-driven surrogate models, approximation errors, controller design, and closed-loop guarantees. We review theoretical foundations, error bounds, and both linear and bilinear EDMD-based control schemes, highlighting robust strategies that ensure stability and performance. Finally, we discuss open challenges and future directions at the interface of operator theory, approximation theory, and nonlinear control.

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arXiv2025

SafEDMD: A Koopman-based data-driven controller design framework for nonlinear dynamical systems

The Koopman operator serves as the theoretical backbone for machine learning of dynamical control systems, where the operator is heuristically approximated by extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD). In this paper, we propose SafEDMD, a novel stability- and feedback-oriented EDMD-based controller design framework. Our approach leverages a reliable surrogate model generated in a data-driven fashion in order to provide closed-loop guarantees. In particular, we establish a controller design based on semi-definite programming with guaranteed stabilization of the underlying nonlinear system. As central ingredient, we derive proportional error bounds that vanish at the origin and are tailored to control tasks. We illustrate the developed method by means of several benchmark examples and highlight the advantages over state-of-the-art methods.

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arXiv2025

Kernel-based Koopman approximants for control: Flexible sampling, error analysis, and stability

Data-driven techniques for analysis, modeling, and control of complex dynamical systems are on the uptake. Koopman theory provides the theoretical foundation for the popular kernel extended dynamic mode decomposition (kEDMD). In this work, we propose a novel kEDMD scheme to approximate nonlinear control systems accompanied by an in-depth error analysis. Key features are regularization-based robustness and an adroit decomposition into micro and macro grids enabling flexible sampling. But foremost, we prove proportionality, i.e., explicit dependence on the distance to the (controlled) equilibrium, of the derived bound on the full approximation error. Leveraging this key property, we rigorously show that asymptotic stability of the data-driven surrogate (control) system implies asymptotic stability of the original (control) system and vice versa.

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arXiv2025

Energy-optimal control of discrete-time port-Hamiltonian systems

In this letter, we study the energy-optimal control of nonlinear port-Hamiltonian (pH) systems in discrete time. For continuous-time pH systems, energy-optimal control problems are strictly dissipative by design. This property, stating that the system to be optimized is dissipative with the cost functional as a supply rate, implies a stable long-term behavior of optimal solutions and enables stability results in predictive control. In this work, we show that the crucial property of strict dissipativity is not straightforwardly preserved by any energy-preserving integrator such as the implicit midpoint rule. Then, we prove that discretizations via difference and differential representations lead to strictly dissipative discrete-time optimal control problems. Consequently, we rigorously show a stable long-term behavior of optimal solutions in the form of a manifold (subspace) turnpike property. Finally, we validate our findings using two numerical examples

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arXiv2025

Koopman-based control of nonlinear systems with closed-loop guarantees

In this paper, we provide a tutorial overview and an extension of a recently developed framework for data-driven control of unknown nonlinear systems with rigorous closed-loop guarantees. The proposed approach relies on the Koopman operator representation of the nonlinear system, for which a bilinear surrogate model is estimated based on data. In contrast to existing Koopman-based estimation procedures, we state guaranteed bounds on the approximation error using the stability- and certificate-oriented extended dynamic mode decomposition (SafEDMD) framework. The resulting surrogate model and the uncertainty bounds allow us to design controllers via robust control theory and sum-of-squares optimization, guaranteeing desirable properties for the closed-loop system. We present results on stabilization both in discrete and continuous time, and we derive a method for controller design with performance objectives. The benefits of the presented framework over established approaches are demonstrated with a numerical example.

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arXiv2025

Kernel-based error bounds of bilinear Koopman surrogate models for nonlinear data-driven control

We derive novel deterministic bounds on the approximation error of data-based bilinear surrogate models for unknown nonlinear systems. The surrogate models are constructed using kernel-based extended dynamic mode decomposition to approximate the Koopman operator in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space. Unlike previous methods that require restrictive assumptions on the invariance of the dictionary, our approach leverages kernel-based dictionaries that allow us to control the projection error via pointwise error bounds, overcoming a significant limitation of existing theoretical guarantees. The derived state- and input-dependent error bounds allow for direct integration into Koopman-based robust controller designs with closed-loop guarantees for the unknown nonlinear system. Numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.

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arXiv2025

A model-free approach to control barrier functions using funnel control

Control barrier functions (CBFs) are a popular approach to design feedback laws that achieve safety guarantees for nonlinear systems. The CBF-based controller design relies on the availability of a model to select feasible inputs from the set of CBF-based controls. In this paper, we develop a model-free approach to design CBF-based control laws, eliminating the need for knowledge of system dynamics or parameters. Specifically, we address safety requirements characterized by a time-varying distance to a reference trajectory in the output space and construct a CBF that depends only on the measured output. Utilizing this particular CBF, we determine a subset of CBF-based controls without relying on a model of the dynamics by using techniques from funnel control. The latter is a model-free high-gain adaptive control methodology, which achieves tracking guarantees via reactive feedback. In this paper, we discover and establish a connection between the modular controller synthesis via zeroing CBFs and model-free reactive feedback. The theoretical results are illustrated by a numerical simulation.

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arXiv2025

On Model Predictive Funnel Control with Equilibrium Endpoint Constraints

We propose model predictive funnel control, a novel model predictive control (MPC) scheme building upon recent results in funnel control. The latter is a high-gain feedback methodology that achieves evolution of the measured output within predefined error margins. The proposed method dynamically optimizes a parameter-dependent error boundary in a receding-horizon manner, thereby combining prescribed error guarantees from funnel control with the predictive advantages of MPC. On the one hand, this approach promises faster optimization times due to a reduced number of decision variables, whose number does not depend on the horizon length. On the other hand, the continuous feedback law improves the robustness and also explicitly takes care of the inter-sampling behavior. We focus on proving stability by leveraging results from MPC stability theory with terminal equality constraints. Moreover, we rigorously show initial and recursive feasibility.

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arXiv2025

Group-Convolutional Extended Dynamic Mode Decomposition

This paper explores the integration of symmetries into the Koopman-operator framework for the analysis and efficient learning of equivariant dynamical systems using a group-convolutional approach. Approximating the Koopman operator by finite-dimensional surrogates, e.g., via extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD), is challenging for high-dimensional systems due to computational constraints. To tackle this problem with a particular focus on EDMD, we demonstrate -- under suitable equivarance assumptions on the system and the observables -- that the optimal EDMD matrix is equivariant. That is, its action on states can be described by group convolutions and the generalized Fourier transform. We show that this structural property has many advantages for equivariant systems, in particular, that it allows for data-efficient learning, fast predictions and fast eigenfunction approximations. We conduct numerical experiments on the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation and a $λ$-$ω$ spiraling wave system, both nonlinear partial differential equations, providing evidence of the effectiveness of this approach, and highlighting its potential for broader applications in dynamical systems analysis.

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arXiv2025

Two-component controller design to safeguard data-driven predictive control

We design a two-component controller to achieve reference tracking with output constraints - exemplified on systems of relative degree two. One component is a data-driven or learning-based predictive controller, which uses data samples to learn a model and predict the future behavior of the system. We exemplify this component concisely by data-enabled predictive control (DeePC) and by model predictive control based on extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD). The second component is a model-free high-gain feedback controller, which ensures satisfaction of the output constraints if that cannot be guaranteed by the predictive controller. This may be the case, for example, if too little data has been collected for learning or no (sufficient) guarantees on the approximation accuracy derived. In particular, the reactive/adaptive feedback controller can be used to support the learning process by leading safely through the state space to collect suitable data, e.g., to ensure a sufficiently-small fill distance. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the combination of EDMD-based model predictive control and a safeguarding feedback for the set-point transitions including the transition between the set points within prescribed bounds.

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arXiv2025

Offset-free Nonlinear MPC with Koopman-based Surrogate Models

In this paper, we design offset-free nonlinear Model Predictive Control (MPC) for surrogate models based on Extended Dynamic Mode Decomposition (EDMD). The model used for prediction in MPC is augmented with a disturbance term, that is estimated by an observer. If the full information about the equilibrium of the real system is not available, a reference calculator is introduced in the algorithm to compute the MPC state and input references. The control algorithm guarantees offset-free tracking of the controlled output under the assumption that the modeling errors are asymptotically constant. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is showcased with numerical simulations for two popular benchmark systems: the van-der-Pol oscillator and the four-tanks process.

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arXiv2025

Kernel EDMD for data-driven nonlinear Koopman MPC with stability guarantees

Extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD) is a popular data-driven method to predict the action of the Koopman operator, i.e., the evolution of an observable function along the flow of a dynamical system. In this paper, we leverage a recently-introduced kernel EDMD method for control systems for data-driven model predictive control. Building upon pointwise error bounds proportional in the state, we rigorously show practical asymptotic stability of the origin w.r.t. the MPC closed loop without stabilizing terminal conditions. The key novelty is that we avoid restrictive invariance conditions. Last, we verify our findings by numerical simulations.

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arXiv2025

Spatial decay of perturbations in hyperbolic equations with optimal boundary control

Recently, domain-uniform stabilizability and detectability has been the central assumption %in order robustness results on the to ensure robustness in the sense of exponential decay of spatially localized perturbations in optimally controlled evolution equations. In the present paper we analyze a chain of transport equations with boundary and point controls with regard to this property. Both for Dirichlet and Neumann boundary and coupling conditions, we show a necessary and sufficient criterion on control domains which allow for the domain-uniform stabilization of this equation. We illustrate the results by means of a numerical example.

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