Continuous approximation of linear impulsive systems and a new form of robust stability (Q2405389)

In the paper, the solution of two similar (but ultimately different) problems are given. Firstly, it is shown that a given linear impulsive differential equation can be associated with a family of impulse extension equations by parametrization via its step sequences. Then, as the step sequence becomes small, sufficient conditions are provided under which the solutions of the impulse extension equation converge to those of the impulsive differential equation. Secondly, for linear, periodic impulsive differential equations, and for general linear systems, the time-scale tolerance is introduced. It is also mentioned that the time-scale tolerance behaves as a robust stability threshold; if the norm of a given step sequence is smaller than the time-scale tolerance, than all impulse extensions equations from a particular class will have the same stability classification as the associated impulsive differential equation. Finally, some methods to compute the time-scale tolerance are proposed.