A Notion of System Comparison

We introduce $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity, a notion of system comparison that measures to what extent two dynamical systems behave similarly in an input-output sense. This behavioral similarity is characterized by measuring the sensitivity of the difference between the two output trajectories in terms of the external inputs to the two potentially non-deterministic systems. As such, $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity is a notion that characterizes \emph{approximation} of input-output behavior, whereas existing notions of simulation target equivalence. Next, as this approximation is specified in terms of the $L_2$ signal norm, $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity allows for integration with existing methods for analysis and synthesis of control systems, in particular, robust control techniques. We characterize the notion of $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity as a linear matrix inequality feasibility problem and derive its interpretations in terms of transfer matrices. Our study on the compositional properties of $(\gamma,\delta)$-similarity shows that the notion is preserved through series and feedback interconnections. This highlights its applicability in compositional reasoning, namely abstraction and modular synthesis of large-scale interconnected dynamical systems. We further illustrate our results in an electrical network example.