Uniform stabilization for linear systems with persistency of excitation. The neutrally stable and the double integrator cases

Abstract

Consider the controlled system $dx/dt = Ax + \alpha(t)Bu$ where the pair $(A,B)$ is stabilizable and $\alpha(t)$ takes values in $[0,1]$ and is persistently exciting, i.e., there exist two positive constants $\mu,T$ such that, for every $t\geq 0$, $\int_t^{t+T}\alpha(s)ds\geq \mu$. In particular, when $\alpha(t)$ becomes zero the system dynamics switches to an uncontrollable system. In this paper, we address the following question: is it possible to find a linear time-invariant state-feedback $u=Kx$, with $K$ only depending on $(A,B)$ and possibly on $\mu,T$, which globally asymptotically stabilizes the system? We give a positive answer to this question for two cases: when $A$ is neutrally stable and when the system is the double integrator.