arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Mahmoud Abdelgalil.
We show that on a compact, connected, Riemannian manifold without boundary, every isotopic to the identity diffeomorphism can be written as a finite composition of optimal mass transport maps. This result represents a non-linear infinite dimensional generalization of Ballantine's factorization results.
We prove that, on a smooth manifold $M$ equipped with a constant rank horizontal distribution $H$ and a smooth inner product $g_H$ on $H$, any horizontal vector field can be written as a linear combination of, at most, $3N$ Lie brackets of horizontal gradient fields of depth-$(1)$, where $N$ is the minimal immersion dimension of $M$, recovering the Riemannian case trivially when $H$ is the entire tangent bundle. When $H$ is also bracket-generating with a uniformly bounded step, we show that any vector field can be written as a linear combination of a uniformly bounded number of iterated Lie brackets of horizontal gradient fields with uniformly bounded depth, both bounds depending solely on the immersion dimension $N$ and the uniform upper bound on the step of $H$. Utilizing this, in conjunction with the Trotter property, we show that, if the manifold is compact, connected, and without boundary, the group generated by flows of horizontal gradient fields is dense in the identity component of the diffeomorphism group. When the manifold is also Riemannian, we show that the same density statement holds for the group generated by diffeomorphic optimal mass transport maps.
We revisit Brockett's attention in the context of bilinear gradient flow of an ensemble, and explore an alternative formalism that aims to reduce shear by minimizing the conditioning number of the dynamics; equivalently, we minimize the range of the eigenvalues of the dynamics. Remarkably, the evolution is isospectral, and this property is inherited by the coupled nonlinear dynamics of the control problem from a Lax isospectral flow.
Positive-definite matrices materialize as state transition matrices of linear time-invariant gradient flows, and the composition of such materializes as the state transition after successive steps where the driving potential is suitably adjusted. Thus, factoring an arbitrary matrix (with positive determinant) into a product of positive-definite ones provides the needed schedule for a time-varying potential to have a desired effect. The present work provides a detailed analysis of this factorization problem by lifting it into a sequence of Monge-Kantorovich transportation steps on Gaussian distributions and studying the induced holonomy of the optimal transportation problem. From this vantage point we determine the minimal number of positive-definite factors that have a desired effect on the spectrum of the product, e.g., ensure specified eigenvalues or being a rotation matrix. Our approach is computational and allows to identify the needed number of factors as well as trade off their conditioning number with their actual number.
We study sufficient conditions for stability and recurrence in a class of singularly perturbed stochastic hybrid dynamical systems. The systems considered combine multi-time-scale deterministic continuous-time dynamics, modeled by constrained differential inclusions, with discrete-time dynamics described by constrained difference inclusions subject to random disturbances. Under suitable regularity assumptions on the dynamics and causality of the associated solutions, we develop a family of composite nonsmooth Lagrange-Foster and Lyapunov-Foster functions that certify stability and recurrence properties by leveraging simpler functions related to the slow and fast subsystems. Stability is characterized with respect to compact sets, while recurrence is established for bounded open sets. The proposed framework is illustrated through several examples and applications, including the stability analysis of singularly perturbed switching systems with stochastic spontaneous mode transitions, feedback optimization problems with stochastically switching plants, and momentum-based feedback optimization algorithms with stochastic restarting.
We introduce and analyze the stability of a class of event-triggered extremum-seeking algorithms designed to solve resource-aware, model-free, optimization problems. Leveraging recent advances in Lie-Bracket Averaging for hybrid systems, we demonstrate that the proposed controllers can be formulated as well-posed multi-time-scale hybrid systems that satisfy key regularity, stability, and robustness properties. In extremum-seeking systems, exploration and exploitation are inherently coupled. This coupling necessitates careful consideration in the design of the event-triggered controller. To address this challenge, we incorporate a low-pass filter into the algorithm and carefully design the flow and jump sets of the resulting hybrid system. The resulting controller renders the optimal point semi-globally practically asymptotically stable with solutions exhibiting a uniform semi-global dwell time. We also demonstrate how the proposed event-triggered scheme can be modified to allow analysis using traditional averaging tools for hybrid systems by introducing two independent tunable parameters in the controller. Numerical simulations are presented to validate and illustrate the theoretical results.
We revisit the concept of `attention' as a technical term to quantify the effort in calibrating control action based on available data. While Wiener, in his work on Cybernetics, anticipated key principles on prioritizing task-relevant signals, it was not until the late 1990's when Brockett first formulated pertinent optimization problems that have inspired subsequent as well as the present work. `Attention,' as a technical term, is defined so as to quantify the dependence of the control law on the time and space/state coordinate; a control law that is independent of time and space, assuming it meets specifications, requires vanishing attention. In the present work we focus on Linear-Markovian dynamics with Gaussian state uncertainty so as to analyze the structure of minimal-attention control schemes that steer the dynamics between terminal states with Gaussian uncertainty profile.
We study the instability properties of Nesterov's ODE in non-conservative settings, where the driving term is not necessarily the gradient of a potential function. While convergence properties under Nesterov's ODE are well-characterized for optimization settings with gradient-based driving terms, we show that the presence of arbitrarily small non-conservative terms can lead to instability, a phenomenon previously observed empirically via numerical studies in optimization and game-theoretic problems. Our instability analysis combines multi-time scale techniques, such as averaging via variations-of-constants formula, and Floquet Theory, focusing on systems where the vector field is linear and its Helmholtz decomposition reveals a non-vanishing non-conservative component. To resolve the instability issue, the dynamics under non-vanishing non-conservative components, we study a regularization mechanism based on restarting. The resulting system is a hybrid dynamical system that mirrors Nesterov's ODE during intervals of flow, and implements resets of the momentum state through discrete periodic jumps. For this hybrid system, we establish novel explicit bounds on the resetting period that ensure the decrease of a suitable Lyapunov function, guaranteeing not only stability but also "accelerated" convergence rates under suitable smoothness and strong monotonicity properties on the driving term. Numerical simulations support our theoretical results.
We consider control and inference problems where control protocols and internal dynamics are informed by two types of constraints. Our data consist of i) statistics on the ensemble and ii) trajectories or final disposition of selected tracer particles embedded in the flow. Our aim is i') to specify a control protocol to realize a flow that meets such constraints or ii') to recover the internal dynamics that are consistent with such a data set. We analyze these problems in the setting of linear flows and Gaussian distributions. The control cost is taken to be a suitable action integral constrained by either the trajectories of tracer particles or their terminal placements.
The theory of Monge-Kantorovich Optimal Mass Transport (OMT) has in recent years spurred a fast developing phase of research in stochastic control, control of ensemble systems, thermodynamics, data science, and several other fields in engineering and science. We herein introduce a new type of transportation problems. The salient feature of these problems is that particles/agents in the ensemble are labeled and their relative position along their journey is of interest. Of particular importance in our program are control laws that steer ensembles along cycles ensuring that individual particles return to their original position. This feature is in contrast with the classical theory of optimal transport where the primary object of study is the path of probability densities, without any concern about particle labels. In the theory that we present, we focus on the case Gaussian distributions and linear dynamics, and explore a hitherto unstudied sub-Riemannian structure of Monge-Kantorovich transport where the relative position of particles along their journey is modeled by the holonomy of the transportation schedule. From this vantage point, we discuss several other problems of independent interest.
This paper studies a power transmission system with both conventional generators (CGs) and distributed energy assets (DEAs) providing frequency control. We consider an operating condition with demand aggregating two dynamic components: one that switches between different values on a finite set, and one that varies smoothly over time. Such dynamic operating conditions may result from protection scheme activations, external cyber-attacks, or due to the integration of dynamic loads, such as data centers. Mathematically, the dynamics of the resulting system are captured by a system that switches between a finite number of vector fields -- or modes--, with each mode having a distinct equilibrium point induced by the demand aggregation. To analyze the stability properties of the resulting switching system, we leverage tools from hybrid dynamic inclusions and the concept of $Ω$-limit sets from sets. Specifically, we characterize a compact set that is semi-globally practically asymptotically stable under the assumption that the switching frequency and load variation rate are sufficiently slow. For arbitrarily fast variations of the load, we use a level-set argument with multiple Lyapunov functions to establish input-to-state stability of a larger set and with respect to the rate of change of the loads. The theoretical results are illustrated via numerical simulations on the IEEE 39-bus test system.
We study a novel class of algorithms for solving model-free feedback optimization problems in dynamical systems. The key novelty is the introduction of \emph{persistent resetting learning integrators} (PRLI), which are integrators that are reset at the same frequency at which the plant is dithered using exploratory signals for model-free optimization. It is shown that PRLIs can serve as core mechanisms for real-time gradient estimation in online feedback-optimization tasks where only cost function measurements are available. In particular, unlike existing approaches based on approximation theory, such as averaging or finite-differences, PRLIs can produce global real-time gradient estimates of cost functions, with uniformly bounded perturbations of arbitrarily small magnitude. In this sense, PRLIs function as robust \emph{hybrid} "Oracles" suitable for interconnection with discrete-time optimization algorithms that optimize the performance of continuous-time dynamical plants in closed-loop operation. Compared to existing methods, PRLIs yield \emph{global} stability properties for a broad class of cost functions, surpassing the local or semi-global guarantees offered by traditional approaches based on perturbation and approximation theory. The proposed framework naturally bridges physical systems, modeled as continuous-time plants where continuous exploration is essential, with digital algorithms, represented as discrete-time optimization methods. The main results are illustrated using different numerical examples.
The stability of dynamical systems with oscillatory behaviors and well-defined average vector fields has traditionally been studied using averaging theory. These tools have also been applied to hybrid dynamical systems, which combine continuous and discrete dynamics. However, most averaging results for hybrid systems are limited to first-order methods, hindering their use in systems and algorithms that require high-order averaging techniques, such as hybrid Lie-bracket-based extremum seeking algorithms and hybrid vibrational controllers. To address this limitation, we introduce a novel high-order averaging theorem for analyzing the stability of hybrid dynamical systems with high-frequency periodic flow maps. These systems incorporate set-valued flow maps and jump maps, effectively modeling well-posed differential and difference inclusions. By imposing appropriate regularity conditions, we establish results on $(T,\varepsilon)$-closeness of solutions and semi-global practical asymptotic stability for sets. These theoretical results are then applied to the study of three distinct applications in the context of hybrid model-free control and optimization via Lie-bracket averaging.
We study the problem of robust global stabilization in control-affine systems, focusing on dynamic uncertainties in the control directions \emph{and} the presence of topological obstructions that prevent the existence of smooth global control Lyapunov functions. Building on a recently developed Lie-bracket averaging result for hybrid dynamic inclusions presented in \cite{abdelgalil2023lie}, we propose a novel class of universal hybrid feedback laws that achieve robust global practical stability by identifying the minimum point of a set of appropriately chosen synergistic Lyapunov functions. As concrete applications of our results, we synthesize different hybrid high-frequency high-amplitude feedback laws for the solution of robust global stabilization problems on various types of manifolds under unknown control directions, as well as controllers for obstacle avoidance problems in vehicles characterized by kinematic models describing both holonomic and non-holonomic models. By leveraging Lie-bracket averaging for hybrid systems, we also show how the proposed hybrid minimum-seeking feedback laws can overcome lack of controllability during persistent (bounded) periods of time. Numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate the main results.
We consider the problem of steering a collection of n particles that obey identical n-dimensional linear dynamics via a common state feedback law towards a rearrangement of their positions, cast as a controllability problem for a dynamical system evolving on the space of matrices with positive determinant. We show that such a task is always feasible and, moreover, that it can be achieved arbitrarily fast. We also show that an optimal feedback control policy to achieve a similar feat, may not exist. Furthermore, we show that there is no universal formula for a linear feedback control law to achieve a rearrangement, optimal or not, that is everywhere continuous with respect to the specifications. We conclude with partial results on the broader question of controllability of dynamics on orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms.
Stability results for extremum seeking control in $\mathbb{R}^n$ have predominantly been restricted to local or, at best, semi-global practical stability. Extending semi-global stability results of extremum-seeking systems to unbounded sets of initial conditions often demands a stringent global Lipschitz condition on the cost function, which is rarely satisfied by practical applications. In this paper, we address this challenge by leveraging tools from higher-order averaging theory. In particular, we establish a novel second-order averaging result with \emph{global} (practical) stability implications. By leveraging this result, we characterize sufficient conditions on cost functions under which uniform global practical asymptotic stability can be established for a class of extremum-seeking systems acting on static maps. Our sufficient conditions include the case when the gradient of the cost function, rather than the cost function itself, satisfies a global Lipschitz condition, which covers quadratic cost functions. Our results are also applicable to vector fields that are not necessarily Lipschitz continuous at the origin, opening the door to non-smooth Lie-bracket ES dynamics. We illustrate all our results via different analytical and/or numerical examples.
Sperm cells perform extremely demanding tasks with minimal capabilities. The cells must quickly navigate in a noisy environment to find an egg within a short time window for successful fertilization without any global positioning information. Many research efforts have been dedicated to deriving mathematical principles that explain their superb navigation strategy. Here we show that the navigation strategy of sea urchin sperm, also known as helical klinotaxis, is a natural implementation of a well-established adaptive control paradigm known as extremum seeking. This bridge between control theory and the biology of taxis in microorganisms is expected to deepen our understanding of the process. For example, the formulation leads to a coarse-grained model of the signaling pathway that offers new insights on the peculiar switching-like behavior between high and low gain steering modes observed in sea urchin sperm. Moreover, it may guide engineers in developing bio-inspired miniaturized robots with minimal sensors.
We analyze a class of singularly perturbed high-amplitude, high-frequency oscillatory systems that arises in extremum seeking applications. We provide explicit formulas for averaging and establish the convergence of the trajectories of this class of systems to the trajectories of a suitably averaged reduced order system by combining the higher order averaging theorem with singular perturbation techniques. Finally, we propose a novel bio-inspired 3D source seeking algorithm and establish its singular practical stability.