Hankel singular value functions from Schmidt pairs for nonlinear input-output systems

This paper presents three results in singular value analysis of Hankel operators for nonlinear input–output systems. First, the notion of a Schmidt pair is defined for a nonlinear Hankel operator. This makes it possible to define a Hankel singular value function from a purely input–output point of view and without introducing a state space setting. However, if a state space realization is known to exist then a set of sufficient conditions is given for the existence of a Schmidt pair, and the state space provides a convenient representation of the corresponding singular value function. Finally, it is shown that in a specific coordinate frame it is possible to relate this new singular value function definition to the original state space notion used to describe nonlinear balanced realizations. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.