Chapter 4

Elements of Realizability Theory

4.1. Causality and Stability

4.2. Hurwitz Polynomials

4.3. Positive Real Functions

4.4. Testing Positive Real Functions

1
 4. Elements of realizability theory
 In the last chapter we were concerned with the problem of
identifying the response given the excitation and network.
 When we discuss about synthesis we are concerned with the
problem of constructing a network given the excitation and
response.
 The starting point for any synthesis is the system function
R( s)
H (s) 
E (s)
 Our task is to synthesize the network from a given
system function

2
 4.1 Causality and Stability
 The first step in synthesis procedure is to determine whether H(s) can
be realized as a physical passive network.
 There are two important considerations :causality and stability

I. Causality

 A voltage can’t appear between any pair of two terminals in the

network before a current is imposed or vice-versa.
 In other words, the impulse response of the network must be zero for
t< 0, that is:

3
Example: the impulse response is causal, where as is
not causal.
In certain cases the impulse response could be made realizable(causal) by
delaying it appropriately as shown below.

4
 II. Stability
In order for a network to be stable the following three
conditions on its system function 𝐻 𝑠 must be satisfied.
1. 𝐻 𝑠 cannot have poles in the right half of s plane
2. 𝐻 𝑠 cannot have multiple poles on 𝑗𝜔 axis .(poles must
be simple )
𝑛 − 𝑚 ≤1

3. The degree of numerator of 𝐻 𝑠 cannot exceed the

degree of the denominator by more than unity.
 In the complex s –plane a pole is denoted by small cross(x) and a zero by
a small circle(o).

5
Example: check the following for stability

The zeros of T(s) are: s = -2,s = -4

6
and poles are: s= 0,s = -1,s=-3
 4.2. Hurwitz polynomials
 Another element of realizability is a class of polynomial known as
Hurwitz polynomial
 The denominator polynomial of system function belongs to a class
known as Hurwitz polynomials .
 A polynomial P 𝑠 is said to be Hurwitz if the following conditions are
satisfied.
1. P 𝒔 is real when s is real.
2. The roots of P 𝒔 have real parts which are zero or negative.
 As a result of these conditions, if 𝑝 𝑠 is Hurwitz given by

 Then all the coefficients 𝑎𝑖 must be real. if 𝑠𝑖 = 𝛼𝑖 + 𝑗𝛽 is a root of

P 𝑠 , then 𝛼𝑖 must be –ve .
 Example:
 
 The polynomial P(s)  (s  1) s  1  j 2 s  1  j 2 
is Hurwitz because all of its roots have negative real parts.
 The polynomial G ( s )  ( s  1)(s  2)(s  3)
7
is not Hurwitz because of the root s=1, which has a positive real part.
 Properties of Hurwitz polynomials :

1. If the polynomial P 𝑠 can be written as

Then, All the coefficients ai must be positive. A corollary is that between

the highest order term in s and the lowest order term, none of the
coefficients may be zero unless the polynomial is even or odd. In other
words, an-1,an-2,… a2, a1 must not be zero if the polynomial is neither even
or odd.
2. Both the odd and even parts of a Hurwitz polynomial P(s) have roots
on the jω-axis only. If we denote the even part of P(s) as m(s) and the odd
part as n(s), so that
P(s)=m(s)+n(s)
3. As a result of property (2), if P(s) is either even or odd, all its roots are
on the jω-axis.(including origin)
4. The continued fraction expansion of the ratio (ψ(s) of the odd to even
parts (n(s)/m(s)) or the even to odd parts (m(s)/n(s)) of a Hurwitz
polynomial yields all positive quotient terms. As,
n(s) m(s)
ψ(s)= or ( Select the higher degree to be numerator)
8 m(s) n(s)
Where q1, q2,… qn must be positive if the polynomial P(s)=M(s)+N(s) is Hurwitz.
5. If the continued fraction expansion of the odd to even or even to odd parts of a
polynomial yields positive quotient terms, then the polynomial must be Hurwitz to
within a multiplicative factor W(s). That is, if we write

P(s)=W(s)P1(s)

then P(s) is Hurwitz polynomial , if P1(s)and W(s) are Hurwitz

6. In case the polynomial is either only even or only odd, it is not possible to obtain
the continued fraction expansion in such cases, the polynomial P(s) is Hurwitz if
the ratio of P(s) and its derivative P′(s) gives a continued fraction expansion.

9
10
 Example . Check if the following polynomial is hurwitz or not

F ( s)  s 4  s 3  5s 2  3s  4
 Since the order of n(s) is higher than m(s), we start with n(s)/m(s).

n( s)  s 4  5s 2  4 and m( s)  s 3  3s

Obtain the continued fraction expansion of

n( s ) s 4  5s 2  4

m( s ) s 3  3s
2s 2  4
 s
s 3  3s
1
 s
s 3  3s
2s 2  4
1
 s
1 s
s
2 2s 2  4
1
 s
1 1
s
2 2s 2  4
s
1
 s
1 1
s
2 4
2s 
s
1
 s
1 1 Note that all the coefficients
s
2 1 of the quotients are positive
2s 
s
4
 Test if the following polynomials are hurwitz or not
P(s) = s4 + 4s3 + 8s2 +16s +32
F(s) = s5 +12s4+45s3 +60s2+44s+48
F ( s)  s 4  s 3  4s 2  2s  3

13
Routh Hurwitz Stability Criteria
• It determines if all the roots of a polynomial lie in the open LHP (left half-plane),or
equivalently, have negative real parts.
• It also determines the number of roots of a polynomial in the open RHP (right half-
plane).
• It does NOT explicitly compute the roots.
Routh Hurwitz Stability Criterion is based on ordering the coefficients of the
characteristic equation into an array, also known as Routh Array.
Suppose the characteristic equation of a control system is given as:

Now, from the given equation, we will form Routh Array as shown
below:

14
 To obtain the precise number of roots with nonnegative real part, proceed as follows. Arrange the
coefficients of the polynomial, and values subsequently calculated from them as shown below:

• a0, a1, …., an coefficients are taken from the

equation and arranged as shown.

• Similarly, c coefficients and d coefficients are

calculated as following:

• (Coefficients b1, b2, b3, ……, bn are

calculated as

• In this process, the missing terms are

considered zero and elements of any row
can be divided by a positive number to
• This process is continued till we get simplify the calculation.
15 zero in the row with b coefficients.
 • Count the number of sign changes in the first column of the array.
• It can be shown that a necessary and sufficient condition for all roots to be located in the
left-half plane is that all the ai are positive and all of the coefficients in the first column
be positive.

Now, the Routh stability Criteria is given as:

• “For a system to be stable, it is necessary and sufficient that each term of first
column of Routh Array formed of its characteristic equation be positive if a0>0.
• If this condition is not met, the system is unstable and number of sign changes of
the terms of the first column of the Routh Array corresponds to the number of
roots of the characteristic equation in the right half of the s-plane”.
16
Example1: consider the fourth-order polynomial:

In this example, the sign changes

twice in the first column so the
polynomial equation has two
roots in RHP. So it is not stable

In this example, the sign changes

twice in the first column so the
polynomial equation has two
roots in RHP. So it is unstable

17
 Example 3: The characteristic equation of a system is given below. Determine the
stability of the system.

s4 + 4s3 + 16s2 +10s +5

In the Routh array formed, if we see in first column; all the

elements are positive. There is no sign change. Hence the
system in question is stable.

18
 Example 4: The characteristic equation of a system is given below. Determine the
stability of the system

4s4 + 8s3 + 2s2 +10s +3

Applying Routh Hurwitz Criteria and forming Routh [Link] get,

In the first column of the Routh Array formed

above, there is one negative element. Also, there
are two sign changes in first column. First is from
8 to -3 and second is from -3 to 18. Hence the
system is questions is unstable and out of 4 poles, 2
are in the right half of s-plane.

19
 Now, apart from determining the stability, Routh Criteria can also be used for tuning
the variable parameters to keep the system in the stable region. This can be understood
from the following example.

Find the range of values of k for which the system would be stable.
Solution:
In the given system, k is an unknown parameter. Now, forming Routh array from the
given equation

Now, in the array formed; if the system is to be stable then all

the elements in first column need to be positive
21 – k > 0 & k > 0
k < 21 & k > 0
20 ⇒ 0 < k < 21 for the system to be stable.
 Special Cases of Routh Hurwitz Stability Criteria
• However, in this criteria there are some special conditions in which some assumptions are
needed to be made. These special cases are mentioned as follows:
Case I: When the first term in any row of the Routh array is zero while rest of the
row has at least one non-zero term.
• Because of this zero term, the terms in the next row become infinite and Routh’s test breaks
down. To overcome this difficulty, substitute a small positive number ε for zero and proceed
to evaluate the rest of Routh Array. Then check the signs of the first column of the array by
substituting ε→0.
Example : The characteristic equation of a system is given as

Determine whether the system is stable or not.

Solution: Applying Routh Hurwitz Criteria and forming Routh Array, we get
Now, if we examine the elements of first column.
Since there is a sign change at s1
row, hence the system is unstable
and having two poles in right half of
s-plane due to two sign changes.
21
 Example: The characteristic equation of a system is given as

Determine whether the system is stable or not.

22
 Case II: When all the elements in any one row of the Routh Array are zero.
• In this case there are symmetrically located roots in the s-plane. There can be pair of real roots
with opposite signs and /or pair of conjugate roots on the imaginary axis and/or complex
conjugate roots forming quadrature in the s-plane.
• The polynomial whose coefficients are the elements of the row just above the row of zeros in
the Routh array is called an auxiliary polynomial.
• This polynomial gives the number and location of root pairs of the characteristic equation
which are symmetrically located in the s plane. The order of the auxiliary polynomial is always
even
Example : The characteristic equation of a system is given as follows. Comment on the
stability of the system.

23
In above array, there is no change of sign. Hence the system will be marginally or
limitedly stable.
Also, if we solve and find the roots of auxiliary polynomial

These two pair of roots are also among the

24 roots of given characteristic equation.
 Example : The characteristic equation of a system is given as follows. Comment on the
stability of the system.

25
4.3. Positive real functions

Definition
𝑁(𝑠)
A function F(s) = 𝐷(𝑠) is positive real (PR)if the following
conditions are satisfied.
a. F(s) is real for real s. i.e. F(𝜎)is real.
b. D(s) is Hurwitz polynomial
c. F(s) may have poles on the jω-axis. These poles are simple and
the residues are real and positive
d. The real part of F(s) is greater than or equal to zero that is

 On a complex plane interpretation the right half of s-plane maps

on to the right half of the F(s) plane. The real axis of the s plane
maps on to the real axis of the F(s) plane.

26
 Consider the following when F(s) is rational

1. 𝐹 𝑠 = 𝐿𝑠 (where L is positive real) is PR by definition . If

F(s) is impedance function, then L is inductance.
2. 𝐹 𝑠 = 𝑅 (where R is real and positive ) is PR by definition .
If F(s) is impedance function, then R is resistance.
𝑘
3. 𝐹 𝑠 =
𝑠
(where k is real and positive ) is PR because when s
is real F(s) is real.
When the real art of s greater than zero,𝑅𝑒 𝑠 = 𝜎 > 0.
Then

Therefore F(s) is PR. if F(s) is an impedance function, then the

corresponding element is a capacitor of 1 𝑘 farads .

27
 Properties of positive real functions
𝟏
1. If F(s) is PR then is also PR. This property implies that if a
𝑭(𝑺)
driving point impedance is PR then its reciprocal the driving point
admittance is also PR.
2. The sum of PR function is PR. {if 2 impedances are connected in
series or 2 admittances are connected in parallel, the resultant
impedance or admittance is PR (note that the difference of 2 PR
functions is not necessarily PR)}
3. The poles and zeros of PR function can’t have positive real pars i.e.
they can’t be in the right half of the S-plane.
4. Only simple poles with real positive residues can exist on the jω axis.
5. The poles and zeros of a p.r. function are real or occur in conjugate
pairs.
6. The highest powers of the numerator and denominator polynomials
may differ at most by unity.
7. The lowest power of numerator and denominator polynomials may
differ at most by unity.

28
8. The necessary and sufficient conditions for a rational function with a
real coefficients F(s) to be positive real are
a. F(s) must have no poles in the right half plane.
b. F(s) may have only simple poles on jω axis.
c. Re 𝐹 𝑗𝜔 ≥ 0, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝜔.

4.4. Testing positive real functions

i. 8.a requires that we test the denominator of F(s) for roots
in the right half. determine if the denominator of F(s)is
Hurwitz. Use the CFE (even/odd or odd/even) to see if the
quotients are positive.
ii. 8.b is tested by making partial fraction expansion of F(s)
and checking whether the residues are positive and real.
Thus, if F(s) has a pair of poles at 𝑠 = ±𝑗𝜔1 ,a partial fraction
expansion gives the term of the form.

29
The residues of complex conjugate poles are themselves conjugates. If the
residues are real-as they must be in order for F(s) to be PR- then K1-K1* so that

* If 𝒌𝟏 found to be positive ,then F(s) satisfies the second and

third condition.
iii. To test for 8.c we must first find the real part of 𝐹 𝑗𝜔 from the
original function F(s). If F(s) given as a quotient of two polynomials

We can separate the even part from the odd part

F(s) is now decomposed into its even and odd parts by multiplying both
P(s) and Q(s) by M2-N2

30
31
 Example
s2
1. Is F ( s)  2 positive real function?
s  3s  2
s2 1
F ( s)  
s  1(s  2) s  1
 Its pole s=-1 lies on the left of s plane
 No multiple poles on the jw axis
 Its real part is
 1   1  jw 
ReF ( jw)   Re
1
  Re  
 1  jw   1  w 2
 1  w 2

is always positive.
 s 1
2. Is F ( s )  2 positive real?
s 2
Solution: s2
F (s) 
 
s j 2 s j 2 
 No poles on the right hand side.
 No multiple poles on jw axis.
 The real part of F(jw) is
 jw  1 
ReF ( jw)   Re
1

w 2 2w
2 2

this can be a negative number. For example for w=2.

3. Is positive real?

 The poles of F(s) are located on the imaginary axis at s = + j and s =-j. Les
us calculate the residues at these poles.

 As the residues at the

pole are negative,
the function is not P.R.F.
Exercise
4. Check whether the following function is positive real
function or not ?
s4 F (s) 
12 s 2  5
H (s)  2 2s 3  s
s  2s  5
s 3  5s
p( s)  4
s  2s 2  1
 End of Chapter 4

36