The time-invariant linear-quadratic optimal control problem

This paper provides a review of one of the basic problems of systems theory—the general time-invariant optimal control problem involving linear systems and quadratic costs. The problem includes on one hand the regulator problem of optimal control and on the other, the theory of linear dissipative systems, itself central to network theory and to the stability theory of feedback systems. The theory is developed using simple properties of dynamical systems and involves a minimum of ‘hard’ analysis or algebra. It includes a full existence theory of the matrix quadratic equation, of interest in its own right.