Null controllable sets and reachable sets for nonautonomous linear control systems

Abstract

Under the assumption of lack of uniform controllability for a family of time-dependent linear control systems, we study the dimension, topological structure and other dynamical properties of the sets of null controllable points and of the sets of reachable points. In particular, when the space of null controllable vectors has constant dimension for all the systems of the family, we find a closed invariant subbundle where the uniform null controllability holds. Finally, we associate a family of linear Hamiltonian systems to the control family and assume that it has an exponential dichotomy in order to relate the space of null controllable vectors to one of the Lagrange planes of the continuous splitting.