Linear and numerical linear algebra in control theory: Some research problems (Q1320015)

The author outlines some research problems in three important aspects of the design and analysis of linear control systems, namely, in the design of observers, eigenvalue assignment, and the stability and feedback stabilization of second-order systems. The problems include: (1) Characterize and find nonsingular and orthogonal solutions to the Sylvester-observer equations. (2) Characterize the asymptotic stability and inertia of a large second- order system in terms of the stability and eigenvalues of the data matrices. (3) Find nonmodal approaches for feedback stabilization and other control problems of large second-order systems. The considered problems are stated and described in linear algebra setting, suitable for researches in linear and numerical linear algebra. The solutions of these problems will undoubtedly benefit the control community, but the problems themselves are interesting linear algebra problems in their own right. The purpose of the paper is to give an idea to linear algebraists who are not involved in control-theoretical applications of how problems in linear and numerical linear algebra arise in control-theoretic applications, and why workers in those fields should pay more attention to control-theory research.