A class of linear differential dynamical systems with fuzzy matrices (Q972461)

Fuzzy sets are sets whose elements have degrees of membership. Fuzzy sets were introduced by Lotfi A. Zadeh in 1965 as an extension of the classical notion of set. In classical set theory, the membership of elements in a set is assessed in binary terms according to a bivalent condition -- an element either belongs or does not belong to the set. By contrast, fuzzy set theory permits the gradual assessment of the membership of elements in a set; this is described with the aid of a membership function valued in the real unit interval \([0,1]\). Fuzzy sets generalize classical sets, since the indicator functions of classical sets are special cases of the membership functions of fuzzy sets, if the latter only take values 0 or 1. This paper investigates the first order linear fuzzy differential dynamical systems with fuzzy matrices. We use a complex number representation of the \(\alpha \)-level sets of the fuzzy system, and obtain the solution by employing such representation. It is applicable to practical computations and has also some implications for the theory of fuzzy differential equations. We then present some properties of the two-dimensional dynamical systems and their phase portraits. Some examples are considered to show the richness of the theory and we can clearly see that new behaviors appear. We finally present some conclusions and new directions for further research in the area of fuzzy dynamical systems.