Stabilizability preserving quotients of non-linear systems

Abstract: In this paper quotients of control systems which are generalizations of system reductions are used to study the stabilizability property of non-linear systems. Given a control system and its quotient we study under what conditions stabilizability of the quotient is sufficient to guarantee stabilizability of the original system. We develop a novel method of constructing a control Lyapunov function for the original system from the implied Lyapunov function of the quotient system, this construction involves the solution of a system of partial differential equations. By studying the integrability conditions of this associated system of partial differential equations we are able to characterize obstructions to our proposed method of constructing control Lyapunov functions in terms of the structure of the original control system.