A Spectral Perspective on Stochastic Control Barrier Functions

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Jang, Inkyu, Mballo, Chams E., Tomlin, Claire J., Kim, H. Jin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Jang, Inkyu
Mballo, Chams E.
Tomlin, Claire J.
Kim, H. Jin
author_facet Jang, Inkyu
Mballo, Chams E.
Tomlin, Claire J.
Kim, H. Jin
contents Stochastic control barrier functions (SCBFs) provide a safety-critical control framework for systems subject to stochastic disturbances by bounding the probability of remaining within a safe set. However, synthesizing a valid SCBF that explicitly reflects the true safety probability of the system, which is the most natural measure of safety, remains a challenge. This paper addresses this issue by adopting a spectral perspective, utilizing the linear operator that governs the evolution of the closed-loop system's safety probability. We find that the dominant eigenpair of this Koopman-like operator encodes fundamental safety information of the stochastic system. The dominant eigenfunction is a natural and valid SCBF, with values that explicitly quantify the relative long-term safety of the state, while the dominant eigenvalue indicates the global rate at which the safety probability decays. A practical synthesis algorithm is proposed, termed power-policy iteration, which jointly computes the dominant eigenpair and an optimized backup policy. The method is validated using simulation experiments on safety-critical dynamics models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_19813
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Spectral Perspective on Stochastic Control Barrier Functions
Jang, Inkyu
Mballo, Chams E.
Tomlin, Claire J.
Kim, H. Jin
Systems and Control
Optimization and Control
Stochastic control barrier functions (SCBFs) provide a safety-critical control framework for systems subject to stochastic disturbances by bounding the probability of remaining within a safe set. However, synthesizing a valid SCBF that explicitly reflects the true safety probability of the system, which is the most natural measure of safety, remains a challenge. This paper addresses this issue by adopting a spectral perspective, utilizing the linear operator that governs the evolution of the closed-loop system's safety probability. We find that the dominant eigenpair of this Koopman-like operator encodes fundamental safety information of the stochastic system. The dominant eigenfunction is a natural and valid SCBF, with values that explicitly quantify the relative long-term safety of the state, while the dominant eigenvalue indicates the global rate at which the safety probability decays. A practical synthesis algorithm is proposed, termed power-policy iteration, which jointly computes the dominant eigenpair and an optimized backup policy. The method is validated using simulation experiments on safety-critical dynamics models.
title A Spectral Perspective on Stochastic Control Barrier Functions
topic Systems and Control
Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.19813