The mathematical theory of control became a field of study half a century ago in attempts to clarify and organize some challenging practical problems and the methods used to solve them. It is known for the breadth of the mathematics it uses and its cross-disciplinary vigor. Its literature, which can be found in Section 93 of Mathematical Reviews, was at onetime dominated by the theory of linear control systems, which mathematically are described by linear differential equations forced by additive control inputs. That theory led to well-regarded numerical and symbolic computational packages for control analysis and design. Nonlinear control problems are also important; in these either the - derlying dynamical system is nonlinear or the controls are applied in a n- additive way. The last four decades have seen the development of theoretical work on nonlinear control problems based on differential manifold theory, nonlinear analysis, and several other mathematical disciplines. Many of the problems that had been solved in linear control theory, plus others that are new and distinctly nonlinear, have been addressed; some resulting general definitions and theorems are adapted in this book to the bilinear case.
