Single-Integrator Consensus Dynamics over Minimally Reactive Networks

Abstract: The problem of achieving consensus in a network of connected systems arises in many science and engineering applications. In contrast to previous works, we focus on the system reactivity, i.e., the initial amplification of the norm of the system states. We identify a class of networks that we call minimally reactive, which are such that the indegree and the outdegree of each node of the network are the same. We propose several optimization procedures in which minimum perturbations (links or link weights) are imposed on a given network topology to make it minimally reactive. A new concept of structural reactivity is introduced which measures how much a given network is far from becoming minimally reactive by link perturbations. The structural reactivity of directed random graphs is studied.