ANALYZE STABILITY OF

CAUSAL SYSTEM
APPLICATION OF LAPLACE TRANSFORM
CONTENTS
Introduction
System Causality & Transfer Functions
Examples: System Causality
System Stability
Causal System Stability
Summary
Additional INFORMATION
REFRENCES
 INTRODUCTION: TRANSFER FUNCTIONS,
FREQUENCY RESPONSE & POLES AND ZEROS

X ( s) Y ( s) H ( s) X ( s)
H(jw)
e st
H ( s)e st

The systems transfer function is the Laplace (Fourier) transform of

the systems impulse response H(s) (H(jw)).
The transfer functions poles and zeros are H(s)Pi(s-zi)/Pj(s-pi).
This enables us to both calculate (from the differential equations)
and analyse a systems response
Frequency response magnitude/phase decomposition
H(jw) = |H(jw)|ejH(jw)

3/15 Bode diagrams are a log/log plot of this information EE-2027 SaS, L17
SYSTEM CAUSALITY & TRANSFER FUNCTIONS

Remember, a system is causal if y(t) only depends Im s-plane

on x(t), dx(t)/dt,,x(t-T) where T>0
This is equivalent to saying that an LTI systems
impulse is h(t) = 0 whenever t<0. x
Re

Theorem The ROC associated with the (Laplace)

transfer function of a causal system is a right-half s=jw
plane
Note the converse is not necessarily true (but is
true for a rational transfer function)

4/15 EE-2027 SaS, L17

EXAMPLES: SYSTEM CAUSALITY
Consider the (LTI 1st order) system with an impulse response
h(t ) e t u (t )
This has a transfer function (Laplace transform) and ROC
1
H (s) , Re{ s} 1
s 1
The transfer function is rational and the ROC is a right half plane. The
corresponding system is causal.
Consider the system with an impulse response
h(t ) e |t|
The system transfer function and ROC

H ( s ) e e dt e u (t )e dt et u ( t )e st dt
|t | st t st

1 1 2
2 , 1 Re{ s} 1
5/15 s 1 s 1 s 1 EE-2027 SaS, L17

The ROC is not the right half plane, so the system is not causal
 SYSTEM STABILITY

Remember, a system is stable if x : x U y V , which is

equivalent to bounded input signal => bounded output
This is equivalent to saying that an LTI systems impulse is
|h(t)|dt<. Im s-plane

Theorem An LTI system is stable if and only if the ROC of H(s) x

includes the entire jw axis, i.e. Re{s} = 0. Re

Example The following transfer function is stable s=jw

at
L 1
e u (t ) X ( s ) , Re{ s} a
sa
6/15 EE-2027 SaS, L17
CAUSAL SYSTEM STABILITY
Theorem A causal system with rational system function H(s) is stable if and
only if all of the poles of H(s) lie in the left-half plane of s, i.e. they have
negative real parts
s-plane
Im
Example

h(t ) (e t e 2t )u (t ) -2
x
-1
x
Re
1
H ( s) , Re{ s} 1
( s 1)( s 2) s=jw

Note that the poles of H(s) correspond to the powers of the exponential
response in the time domain. If the real part is negative, they exponential
responses decay => stability. Also, the Fourier transform will exist and the
imaginary axis lies in the ROC
7/15 EE-2027 SaS, L17
LECTURE 17: SUMMARY
System properties such as stability, causality, can be interpreted in terms of the
time domain (lecture 3), impulse response (lecture 6) or transfer function (this
lecture).

For system causality the ROC must be a right-half plane

For system stability, the ROC must include the jw axis
For causal stability, the ROC must include Re{s}>-e

We can use the block transfer notation to calculate the transfer functions of serial,
parallel and feedback systems.

Often the aim is to design a sub-system so that the overall transfer function has
particular properties

8/15 EE-2027 SaS, L17

LECTURE 17: SUMMARY
System properties such as stability, causality, can be interpreted in terms of the
time domain (lecture 3), impulse response (lecture 6) or transfer function (this
lecture).

For system causality the ROC must be a right-half plane

For system stability, the ROC must include the jw axis
For causal stability, the ROC must include Re{s}>-e

We can use the block transfer notation to calculate the transfer functions of serial,
parallel and feedback systems.

Often the aim is to design a sub-system so that the overall transfer function has
particular properties

9/15 EE-2027 SaS, L17

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

IMPULSE RESPONSE:
In signal processing, the impulse response, or impulse response function (IRF), of a dynamic system is its
output when presented with a brief input signal, called an impulse. More generally, an impulse response is the
reaction of any dynamic system in response to some external change. In both cases, the impulse response
describes the reaction of the system as a function of time (or possibly as a function of some
other independent variable that parameterizes the dynamic behavior of the system).
RATIONAL FUNCTION:
In mathematics, a rational function is any function which can be defined by a rational
fraction, i.e. an algebraic fraction such that both the numerator and the denominator are polynomials.
The coefficients of the polynomials need not be rational numbers, they may be taken in any field K. In this
case, one speaks of a rational function and a rational fraction over K. The values of the variables may be taken
in any field L containing K. Then the domain of the function is the set of the values of the variables for which
the denominator is not zero and the codomain is L.
 CONT.
LTI SYSTEM:
This is for continuous time. Suppose there is a function f(x(t)) that describes the system. In order for the
system to be linear time invariant, f(x(t)) must satisfy the following properties:
1. Linear: the function exhibits linearity. This can be verified accordingly f(ax(t) + by(t)) = a*f(x(t)) +
b*f(y(t)), where a, b are coefficients and x(t), y(t) are in the input space for f(x(t))
2. Time-invariant: A time shift in the input does not affect the properties of the output. More
specifically, if f(x(t)) = y(t), then f(x(t-T)) = y(t-T), where T is the time shift.
LTI systems have a number of useful properties. It can be characterized by the impulse response h(t),
which can be defined by the following: y(t) = x(t) convolved with h(t). Convolution is commutative,
associative, and distributive.
REFFERENCE

Book: Control System , k.Ogata

Wikipedia
THANKYOU