Reference. Categorical Lyapunov Theory I: Stability of Flows

Lyapunov’s theorem provides a fundamental characterization of the stability of dynamical systems. This paper presents a categorical framework for Lyapunov theory, generalizing stability analysis with Lyapunov functions categorically. Core to our approach is the set of axioms underlying a setting for stability, which give the necessary ingredients for “doing Lyapunov theory” in a category of interest. With these minimal assumptions, we define the stability of equilibria, formulate Lyapunov morphisms, and demonstrate that the existence of Lyapunov morphisms is necessary and sufficient for establishing the stability of flows. To illustrate these constructions, we show how classical notions of stability, e.g., for continuous and discrete time dynamical systems, are captured by this categorical framework for Lyapunov theory. Finally, to demonstrate the extensibility of our framework, we illustrate how enriched categories, e.g., Lawvere metric spaces, yield settings for stability enabling one to “do Lyapunov theory” in enriched categories.

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Cite as @ames-2025-categoricalx (helia, typst) · \cite{ames-2025-categoricalx} (LaTeX)
BibTeX
bibtex · 8 lines
@misc{ames-2025-categoricalx,
  author = {Aaron D. Ames and Joe Moeller and Paulo Tabuada},
  title = {Categorical Lyapunov Theory I: Stability of Flows},
  year = {2025},
  month = {2},
  eprint = {2502.15276},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv}
}
hayagriva YAML (typst)
yaml · 10 lines
ames-2025-categoricalx:
  type: misc
  title: 'Categorical Lyapunov Theory I: Stability of Flows'
  author:
  - Ames, Aaron D.
  - Moeller, Joe
  - Tabuada, Paulo
  date: 2025-02
  serial-number:
    arxiv: '2502.15276'
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Hybrid dynamical systems exhibit a diverse array of stability phenomena, each currently addressed by separate Lyapunov-like results. We show that these results are all instances of a single theorem: a Lyapunov function is a morphism from a hybrid system into a simple stable target system 𝜎, and different stability notions such as Lyapunov stability, asymptotic stability, exponential stability, and Zeno stability correspond to different choices of 𝜎. This unification is achieved by expressing hybrid systems as coalgebras of an endofunctor ℋ︀ on a category 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗍 that naturally blends continuous and discrete dynamics. Instantiating a general categorical Lyapunov theorem for coalgebras to this setting results in new Lypaunov-like conditions for the stability of Zeno equilibria and the existence of Zeno behavior in hybrid systems.
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Categorical Lyapunov Theory II: Stability of Systems ames-2025-categorical

Lyapunov’s theorem provides a foundational characterization of stable equilibrium points in dynamical systems. In this paper, we develop a framework for stability for F-coalgebras. We give two definitions for a categorical setting in which we can study the stability of a coalgebra for an endofunctor F. One is minimal and better suited for concrete settings, while the other is more intricate and provides a richer theory. We prove a Lyapunov theorem for both notions of setting for stability, and a converse Lyapunov theorem for the second.
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Cites 22 works (2 here)
With notes (2)

Categorical Lyapunov Theory II: Stability of Systems ames-2025-categorical

Lyapunov’s theorem provides a foundational characterization of stable equilibrium points in dynamical systems. In this paper, we develop a framework for stability for F-coalgebras. We give two definitions for a categorical setting in which we can study the stability of a coalgebra for an endofunctor F. One is minimal and better suited for concrete settings, while the other is more intricate and provides a richer theory. We prove a Lyapunov theorem for both notions of setting for stability, and a converse Lyapunov theorem for the second.
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Bimonoidal categories (also known as rig categories) are categories with two monoidal structures, one of which distributes over the other. We formally define sheet diagrams, a graphical calculus for bimonoidal categories that was informally introduced by Staton. Sheet diagrams are string diagrams drawn on a branching surface, which is itself an extruded string diagram. Our main result is a soundness and completeness theorem of the usual form for graphical calculi: we show that sheet diagrams form the free bimonoidal category on a signature.
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ames-2025-categoricalx reference entries/refs/ames-2025-categoricalx/ames-2025-categoricalx.hel