Controllability scores of linear time-varying network systems

Abstract: For large-scale network systems, network centrality based on control theory plays a crucial role in understanding their properties and controlling them efficiently. The controllability score is such a centrality index and can give a physically meaningful measure. Nevertheless, the existing work is limited to linear time-invariant (LTI) systems and the controllability score cannot be applied to linear time-varying (LTV) systems, which include essential models such as temporal networks for real application. This paper extends it to apply to LTV systems. Since it is defined as an optimal solution to some optimization problem, it is not necessarily uniquely determined. Its uniqueness must be guaranteed for reproducibility and interpretability. This paper also shows its uniqueness in most practical cases, which guarantees its use as a network centrality. In addition, we propose a data-driven method to compute it for its practical use. Finally, in numerical experiments, we compare controllability scores between LTI and LTV systems and assess the performance of the proposed data-driven method.