A new fundamental solution for differential Riccati equations arising in control

The matrix differential Riccati equation (DRE) is ubiquitous in control and systems theory. The presence of the quadratic term implies that a simple linear-systems fundamental solution does not exist. Of course it is well-known that the Bernoulli substitution may be applied to obtain a linear system of doubled size. Here, however, tools from max-plus analysis and semiconvex duality are brought to bear on the DRE. We consider the DRE as a finite-dimensional solution to a deterministic linear/quadratic control problem. Taking the semiconvex dual of the associated semigroup, one obtains the solution operator as a max-plus integral operator with quadratic kernel. The kernel is equivalently represented as a matrix. Using the semigroup property of the dual operator, one obtains a matrix operation whereby the kernel matrix propagates as a semigroup. The propagation forward is through some simple matrix operations. This time-indexed family of matrices forms a new fundamental solution for the DRE. Solution for any initial condition is obtained by a few matrix operations on the fundamental solution and the initial condition. In analogy with standard-algebra linear systems, the fundamental solution can be viewed as an exponential form over a certain idempotent semiring. This fundamental solution has a particularly nice control interpretation, and might lead to improved DRE solution speeds.