Damped oscillations of linear systems. A mathematical introduction (Q547841)

Small damped oscillations of linear type are described, in the absence of gyroscopic forces, by the linear differential system \[ M\frac{d^2x}{dt^2}+C\frac{dx}{dt}+Kx=f(t). \] Here, \(x=x(t)\) is a \(\mathbb{R}^n\)-valued function of time \(t\in \mathbb{R}\) and \(M\), \(C\), \(K\) are symmetric matrices of order \(n\). \(f=f(t)\) is a given function and usually, \(M\) and \(K\) are positive definite while \(C\) is only positive semidefinite. The equation above is a mathematical model of the following real system: \(x\) is the position, \(M\) is the mass, \(C\) is the damping, \(K\) is the stiffness, \(f\) is the external force. Sometimes, \(x\) is called the response of the system to the external force \(f\). The present book is a very detailed study of this damped system in 22cChapters and an addendum devoted to notes and remarks. The theoretical aspects are very interestingly combined with practical examples for several domains. A special view towards the geometry of the underlying indefinite metric space and useful tools in this direction are provided by several standard matrix decompositions. Also, control problems are discussed with the Lyapunov method. An important aspect is that each chapter contains a large number of exercises, some of them obligatory since they are used later. So, this material can be very useful for a course to students from different special areas.