Basic control theory for linear fractional differential equations with constant coefficients

Abstract

In this paper we present an analogous result of the famous Kalman controllability criterion for first order linear ordinary differential equations with constant coefficients that applies to the case of linear differential equations of fractional order with constant coefficients. We use the fractional Gramian matrix, the range space and the Kalman matrix as main tools to derive a sufficient and necessary condition for the controllability of the fractional system. Moreover, we provide some simple examples, including a linear fractional harmonic oscillator, to illustrate our results. Finally, several open problems arising from this topic are suggested, including another simple linear system of incommensurate fractional orders