1 paper accepted to HSCC

Our paper on the recurrence entropy and bit rates of nonlinear control systems [1] has been accepted to the 27th ACM International Conference on Hybrid Systems: Computation and Control.

[1] [doi] H. Sibai and E. Mallada, “Recurrence of Nonlinear Control Systems: Entropy and Bit Rates,” in Proceedings of the 27th ACM International Conference on Hybrid Systems: Computation and Control (HSCC), New York, NY, USA, 2024, pp. 1-9.
[Bibtex] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

In this paper, we introduce the notion of recurrence entropy in the context of nonlinear control systems. A set is said to be (tau-)recurrent if every trajectory that starts in the set returns to it (within at most $τ$ units of time). Recurrence entropy quantifies the complexity of making a set tau-recurrent measured by the average rate of growth, as time increases, of the number of control signals required to achieve this goal. Our analysis reveals that, compared to invariance, recurrence is quantitatively less complex, meaning that the recurrence entropy of a set is no larger than, and often strictly smaller than, the invariance entropy. Our results further offer insights into the minimum data rate required for achieving recurrence. We also present an algorithm for achieving recurrence asymptotically.

@inproceedings{sm2024hscc,
  abstract = {In this paper, we introduce the notion of recurrence entropy in the context of nonlinear control systems. A set is said to be (tau-)recurrent if every trajectory that starts in the set returns to it (within at most $τ$ units of time). Recurrence entropy quantifies the complexity of making a set tau-recurrent measured by the average rate of growth, as time increases, of the number of control signals required to achieve this goal. Our analysis reveals that, compared to invariance, recurrence is quantitatively less complex, meaning that the recurrence entropy of a set is no larger than, and often strictly smaller than, the invariance entropy. Our results further offer insights into the minimum data rate required for achieving recurrence. We also present an algorithm for achieving recurrence asymptotically.},
  address = {New York, NY, USA},
  author = {Sibai, Hussein and Mallada, Enrique},
  bdsk-url-3 = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3641513.3650121},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the 27th ACM International Conference on Hybrid Systems: Computation and Control (HSCC)},
  doi = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3641513.3650121},
  grants = {CPS-2136324, Global-Centers-2330450},
  month = {05},
  number = {23},
  pages = {1--9},
  publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
  record = {accepted Jan 2024, submitted Nov 2023},
  series = {HSCC '24},
  title = {Recurrence of Nonlinear Control Systems: Entropy and Bit Rates},
  url = {https://mallada.ece.jhu.edu/pubs/2024-HSCC-SM.pdf},
  year = {2024}
}

1 paper accepted to IEEE TEMPR

Our paper on market power mitigation in two-stage markets [1] has been accepted to Transactions on Energy Markets, Policy, and Regulation!

[1] [doi] R. K. Bansal, Y. Chen, P. You, and E. Mallada, “Market Power Mitigation in Two-stage Electricity Market with Supply Function and Quantity Bidding,” IEEE Transactions on Energy Markets, Policy and Regulation, vol. 1, iss. 4, pp. 512-522, 2023.
[Bibtex] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

Two-stage settlement electricity markets, which in- clude day-ahead and real-time markets, often observe unde- sirable price manipulation due to the price difference across stages, inadequate competition, and unforeseen circumstances. To mitigate this, some Independent System Operators (ISOs) have proposed system-level market power mitigation (MPM) policies in addition to existing local policies. These system-level policies aim to substitute noncompetitive bids with a default bid based on estimated generator costs. However, without accounting for the conflicting interest of participants, they may lead to unintended consequences when implemented. In this paper, we model the competition between generators (bidding supply functions) and loads (bidding quantity) in a two-stage market with a stage- wise MPM policy. An equilibrium analysis shows that a real- time MPM policy leads to equilibrium loss, meaning no stable market outcome (Nash equilibrium) exists. A day-ahead MPM policy leads to Stackelberg-Nash game, with loads acting as leaders and generators as followers. Despite estimation errors, the competitive equilibrium is efficient, while the Nash equilibrium is comparatively robust to price manipulations. Moreover, analysis of inelastic loads shows their tendency to shift allocation and manipulate prices in the market. Numerical studies illustrate the impact of cost estimation errors, heterogeneity in generation cost, and load size on market equilibrium.

@article{bcym2023tempr,
  abstract = {Two-stage settlement electricity markets, which in- clude day-ahead and real-time markets, often observe unde- sirable price manipulation due to the price difference across stages, inadequate competition, and unforeseen circumstances. To mitigate this, some Independent System Operators (ISOs) have proposed system-level market power mitigation (MPM) policies in addition to existing local policies. These system-level policies aim to substitute noncompetitive bids with a default bid based on estimated generator costs. However, without accounting for the conflicting interest of participants, they may lead to unintended consequences when implemented. In this paper, we model the competition between generators (bidding supply functions) and loads (bidding quantity) in a two-stage market with a stage- wise MPM policy. An equilibrium analysis shows that a real- time MPM policy leads to equilibrium loss, meaning no stable market outcome (Nash equilibrium) exists. A day-ahead MPM policy leads to Stackelberg-Nash game, with loads acting as leaders and generators as followers. Despite estimation errors, the competitive equilibrium is efficient, while the Nash equilibrium is comparatively robust to price manipulations. Moreover, analysis of inelastic loads shows their tendency to shift allocation and manipulate prices in the market. Numerical studies illustrate the impact of cost estimation errors, heterogeneity in generation cost, and load size on market equilibrium.},
  author = {Bansal, Rajni Kant and Chen, Yue and You, Pengcheng and Mallada, Enrique},
  bdsk-url-3 = {https://doi.org/10.1109/TEMPR.2023.3318149},
  doi = {10.1109/TEMPR.2023.3318149},
  grants = {CAREER-1752362, CPS-2136324, EPICS-2330450},
  journal = {IEEE Transactions on Energy Markets, Policy and Regulation},
  month = {12},
  number = {4},
  pages = {512-522},
  record = {published, online Sep 2023, revised July 2023, under revision May 2023, submitted Jan 2023},
  title = {Market Power Mitigation in Two-stage Electricity Market with Supply Function and Quantity Bidding},
  url = {https://mallada.ece.jhu.edu/pubs/2023-TEMPR-BCYM.pdf},
  volume = {1},
  year = {2023}
}

Tianqi defended his dissertation

Tianqi Zheng, an ECE Ph.D. student in our lab, defended his dissertation entitled “Online decision-making for dynamical systems: Model-based and data-driven approaches” on Tuesday, September 5th. Congratulations!

Rajni defended his dissertation

Rajni Kant Bansal, a MechE Ph.D. student in our lab, defended his dissertation entitled “Efficiency and Market Power in Electricity Markets with Inelastic Demand, Energy Storage, and Hybrid Energy Resources” on Wednesday, August 30th. Congratulations!

Hancheng defended his dissertation

Hancheng Min, an ECE Ph.D. student in our lab, defended his dissertation entitled “Exploiting Structural Properties in the Analysis of High-dimensional Dynamical Systems” on Friday, July 21st. Congratulations!

2 papers accpeted to CDC

Our paper on non-monotonic Lyapunov functions [1] and our paper on simultaneous state and sparse input recovery [2] have been accepted to the Conference on Decision and Control 2023!

[1] [doi] R. Siegelmann, Y. Shen, F. Paganini, and E. Mallada, “A Recurrence-based Direct Method for Stability Analysis and GPU-based Verification of Non-monotonic Lyapunov Functions,” in 62nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), 2023, pp. 6665-6672.
[Bibtex] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

Lyapunov direct method is a powerful tool that provides a rigorous framework for stability analysis and control design for dynamical systems. A critical step that enables the application of the method is the existence of a Lyapunov function $V$—a function whose value monotonically decreases along the trajectories of the dynamical system. Unfortunately, finding a Lyapunov function is often tricky and requires ingenuity, domain knowledge, or significant computational power. At the core of this challenge is the fact that the method requires every sub-level set of $V$ ($V_łeq c$) to be forward invariant, thus implicitly coupling the geometry of $V_łeq c$ and the trajectories of the system. In this paper, we seek to disentangle this dependence by developing a direct method that substitutes the concept of invariance with a more flexible notion known as recurrence. A set is ($τ$-)recurrent if every trajectory that starts in the set returns to it (within $τ$ seconds) infinitely often. We show that, under mild conditions, the recurrence of level sub-level sets is sufficient to guarantee stability, asymptotic stability, and exponential stability. We further provide a GPU-based algorithm that can to verify whether $V$ satisfies such conditions up to an arbitrarily small subset of the equilibrium.

@inproceedings{sspm2023cdc,
  abstract = {Lyapunov direct method is a powerful tool that provides a rigorous framework for stability analysis and control design for dynamical systems. A critical step that enables the application of the method is the existence of a Lyapunov function $V$---a function whose value monotonically decreases along the trajectories of the dynamical system. Unfortunately, finding a Lyapunov function is often tricky and requires ingenuity, domain knowledge, or significant computational power. At the core of this challenge is the fact that the method requires every sub-level set of $V$ ($V_łeq c$) to be forward invariant, thus implicitly coupling the geometry of $V_łeq c$ and the trajectories of the system. In this paper, we seek to disentangle this dependence by developing a direct method that substitutes the concept of invariance with a more flexible notion known as recurrence. A set is ($τ$-)recurrent if every trajectory that starts in the set returns to it (within $τ$ seconds) infinitely often. We show that, under mild conditions,  the recurrence of level sub-level sets is sufficient to guarantee stability, asymptotic stability, and exponential stability. We further provide a GPU-based algorithm that can to verify whether $V$ satisfies such conditions up to an arbitrarily small subset of the equilibrium.},
  author = {Siegelmann, Roy and Shen, Yue and Paganini, Fernando and Mallada, Enrique},
  bdsk-url-3 = {https://doi.org/10.1109/CDC49753.2023.10383373},
  booktitle = {62nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC)},
  doi = {10.1109/CDC49753.2023.10383373},
  grants = {CPS-2136324, CAREER-1752362, EPICS-2330450},
  month = {12},
  organization = {IEEE},
  pages = {6665--6672},
  record = {presented, accepted Jul 2023, submitted Mar 2023},
  title = {A Recurrence-based Direct Method for Stability Analysis and GPU-based Verification of Non-monotonic Lyapunov Functions},
  url = {https://mallada.ece.jhu.edu/pubs/2023-CDC-SSPM.pdf},
  year = {2023}
}
[2] [doi] K. Poe, E. Mallada, and R. Vidal, “Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Simultaneous State and Input Recovery of Linear Systems with Sparse Inputs by $\ell_1$-Minimization,” in 62nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), 2023, pp. 6499-6506.
[Bibtex] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

The study of theoretical conditions for recovering sparse signals from compressive measurements has received a lot of attention in the research community. In parallel, there has been a great amount of work characterizing conditions for the recovery both the state and the input to a linear dynamical system (LDS), including a handful of results on recovering sparse inputs. However, existing sufficient conditions for recovering sparse inputs to an LDS are conservative and hard to interpret, while necessary and sufficient conditions have not yet appeared in the literature. In this work, we provide (1) the first characterization of necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of sparse inputs to an LDS, (2) the first necessary and sufficient conditions for a linear program to recover both an unknown initial state and a sparse input, and (3) simple, interpretable recovery conditions in terms of the LDS parameters. We conclude with a numerical validation of these claims and discuss implications and future directions.

@inproceedings{pmv2023cdc,
  abstract = {The study of theoretical conditions for recovering sparse signals from compressive measurements has received a lot of attention in the research community. In parallel, there has been a great amount of work characterizing conditions for the recovery both the state and the input to a linear dynamical system (LDS), including a handful of results on recovering sparse inputs. However, existing sufficient conditions for recovering sparse inputs to an LDS are conservative and hard to interpret, while necessary and sufficient conditions have not yet appeared in the literature. In this work, we provide (1) the first characterization of necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of sparse inputs to an LDS, (2) the first necessary and sufficient conditions for a linear program to recover both an unknown initial state and a sparse input, and (3) simple, interpretable recovery conditions in terms of the LDS parameters. We conclude with a numerical validation of these claims and discuss implications and future directions.
},
  author = {Poe, Kyle and Mallada, Enrique and Vidal, Rene},
  bdsk-url-3 = {https://doi.org/10.1109/CDC49753.2023.10383682},
  booktitle = {62nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC)},
  doi = {10.1109/CDC49753.2023.10383682},
  grants = {CPS-2136324,CAREER-1752362},
  month = {12},
  pages = {6499--6506},
  record = {presented, accepted Jul 2023, submitted Mar 2023},
  title = {Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Simultaneous State and Input Recovery of Linear Systems with Sparse Inputs by $\ell_1$-Minimization},
  url = {https://mallada.ece.jhu.edu/pubs/2023-CDC-PMV.pdf},
  year = {2023}
}

1 paper accepted to ICML

Our paper on convergence of gradient flow on multi-layer linear networks [1] has been accepted to International Conference on Machine Learning! Congrats Hancheng!

[1] H. Min, R. Vidal, and E. Mallada, “On the Convergence of Gradient Flow on Multi-layer Linear Models,” in International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), 2023, pp. 1-8.
[Bibtex] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

In this paper, we analyze the convergence of gradient flow on a multi-layer linear model with a loss function of the form $f(W_1 W_2 łdots W_L)$. We show that when $f$ satisfies the gradient dominance property, proper weight initialization leads to exponential convergence of the gradient flow to a global minimum of the loss. Moreover, the convergence rate depends on two trajectory-specific quantities that are controlled by the weight initialization: the imbalance matrices, which measure the difference between the weights of adjacent layers, and the least singular value of the weight product $W = W_1 W_2 łdots W_L$. Our analysis exploits the fact that the gradient of the overparameterized loss can be written as the composition of the non-overparametrized gradient with a time-varying (weight-dependent) linear operator whose smallest eigenvalue controls the convergence rate. The key challenge we address is to derive a uniform lower bound for this time-varying eigenvalue that lead to improved rates for several multi-layer network models studied in the literature.

@inproceedings{mvm2023icml,
  abstract = {In this paper, we analyze the convergence of gradient flow on a multi-layer linear model with a loss function of the form $f(W_1 W_2 łdots W_L)$. We show that when $f$ satisfies the gradient dominance property, proper weight initialization leads to exponential convergence of the gradient flow to a global minimum of the loss. Moreover, the convergence rate depends on two trajectory-specific quantities that are controlled by the weight initialization: the imbalance matrices, which measure the difference between the weights of adjacent layers, and the least singular value of the weight product $W = W_1 W_2 łdots W_L$. Our analysis exploits the fact that the gradient of the overparameterized loss can be written as the composition of the non-overparametrized gradient with a time-varying (weight-dependent) linear operator whose smallest eigenvalue controls the convergence rate. The key challenge we address is to derive a uniform lower bound for this time-varying eigenvalue that lead to improved rates for several multi-layer network models studied in the literature.},
  author = {Min, Hancheng and Vidal, Rene and Mallada, Enrique},
  bdsk-url-3 = {https://mallada.ece.jhu.edu/pubs/2023-ICML-MVM.pdf},
  booktitle = {International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML)},
  grants = {TRIPODS-1934979, CAREER-1752362},
  month = {4},
  pages = {1-8},
  record = {presented Jul. 2023, accepted Apr. 2023, submitted Jan. 2023},
  title = {On the Convergence of Gradient Flow on Multi-layer Linear Models},
  url = {https://mallada.ece.jhu.edu/pubs/2023-ICML-MVM.pdf},
  year = {2023}
}