Sensitivity and robust stability of general input-output systems

The author considers a general model of an input-output system that is governed by nonlinear operator equations which relate the input, the state, and the output of the system. This model encompasses feedback systems as a special case. Assuming that the governing equations depend on a parameter A which is allowed to vary in a neighborhood of a nominal value A₀ in a linear space, the author studies the dependence of the system behavior on A. A system is considered insensitive if, for any fixed input, the output depends continuously on A. Similarly, the system is robust if it is stable for each A in a neighborhood of A₀. Stability is defined as an appropriate continuity of the input-output operator. The results give various sufficient conditions for insensitivity and robustness. Applications of the theory are discussed, including the estimation of the difference of operator inverses, and the insensitivity and robust stability of a Hilbert network, a feedback-feedforward system, a traditional feedback system, and a time-varying dynamical system described by a linear vector differential equation on (0, ∞)