Moment dynamics for a class of time-triggered stochastic hybrid systems

Abstract: Stochastic Hybrid Systems (SHS) constitute an important class of mathematical models that integrate discrete stochastic events with continuous dynamics. The time evolution of statistical moments is generally not closed for SHS, in the sense that the time derivative of the lower-order moments depends on higher-order moments. Here, we identify an important class of SHS where moment dynamics is automatically closed, and hence moments can be computed exactly by solving a system of coupled differential equations. This class is referred to as linear time-triggered SHS (TTSHS), where the state evolves according to a linear dynamical system. Stochastic events occur at discrete times and the intervals between them are independent random variables that follow a general class of probability distributions. Moreover, whenever the event occurs, the state of the SHS changes randomly based on a probability distribution. Our approach relies on embedding a Markov chain based on phase-type processes to model timing of events, and showing that the resulting system has closed moment dynamics. Interestingly, we identify a subclass of linear TTSHS, where the first and second-order moments depend only on the mean time interval between events and invariant of their higher-order statistics. Finally, we discuss applicability of our results to different application areas such as network control systems and systems biology.