Global stability of a class of difference equations on solvable Lie algebras.

Motivated by the ubiquitous sampled-data setup in applied control, we examine the stability of a class of difference equations that arises by sampling a right- or left-invariant flow on a solvable matrix Lie group. The map defining such a difference equation has three key properties that facilitate our analysis: (1) its Lie series expansion enjoys a type of strong convergence; (2) the origin is an equilibrium; (3) the algebraic ideals enumerated in the lower central series of the Lie algebra are dynamically invariant. We show that certain global stability properties are implied by stability of the Jacobian linearization of the dynamics at the origin, in particular, global asymptotic stability. If the Lie algebra is nilpotent, then the origin enjoys semiglobal exponential stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]