Contraction Theory for Dynamical Systems on Hilbert Spaces

Abstract: Contraction theory for dynamical systems on Euclidean spaces is well-established. For contractive (resp. semi-contractive) systems, the distance (resp. semi-distance) between any two trajectories decreases exponentially fast. For partially contractive systems, each trajectory converges exponentially fast to an invariant subspace. In this note, we develop contraction theory on Hilbert spaces. First, we provide a novel integral condition for contractivity, and for time-invariant systems, we establish the existence of a unique globally exponentially stable equilibrium. Second, we introduce the notions of partial and semi-contraction and we provide various sufficient conditions for time-varying and time-invariant systems. Finally, we apply the theory on a classic reaction-diffusion system.