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Main Authors: Wang, Jiamin, Liu, Jian, Xiao, Feng, Duan, Haibin, Zheng, Yuanshi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.29527
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author Wang, Jiamin
Liu, Jian
Xiao, Feng
Duan, Haibin
Zheng, Yuanshi
author_facet Wang, Jiamin
Liu, Jian
Xiao, Feng
Duan, Haibin
Zheng, Yuanshi
contents Understanding what governs collective robustness and how it can be enhanced remains a central pursuit in network science. This paper investigates the robustness of multi-agent consensus networks, quantified by the $H_2$ performance metric, and delves into the enhancing effect of agents' local memory on it. Inspired by the hierarchical temporal structure of memory observed in neuroscience, we focus on the role of memory depth, which reflects the temporal features of memory from recent to remote. Building on linear extrapolation, we propose a consensus protocol with single-step memory and tunable memory depth, derive the necessary and sufficient condition for achieving consensus, and show that the protocol exhibits an inheritable consensus property across memory depths. Furthermore, analytical expressions for the $H_2$ performance metric, which depend on the memory factor, memory depth, coupling gain, and Laplacian spectrum, are established. Under balanced usage of real-time and memory information, we demonstrate that memory at any accessible depth enhances $H_2$ performance, and the optimal memory depth occurs at either the most recent or the most remote memory, contingent upon certain parameter regions. Further detailed discussions are provided to clarify the broader implications of our findings.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_29527
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Robustness Enhancement of Consensus Networks: the Optimal Memory Depth
Wang, Jiamin
Liu, Jian
Xiao, Feng
Duan, Haibin
Zheng, Yuanshi
Systems and Control
Understanding what governs collective robustness and how it can be enhanced remains a central pursuit in network science. This paper investigates the robustness of multi-agent consensus networks, quantified by the $H_2$ performance metric, and delves into the enhancing effect of agents' local memory on it. Inspired by the hierarchical temporal structure of memory observed in neuroscience, we focus on the role of memory depth, which reflects the temporal features of memory from recent to remote. Building on linear extrapolation, we propose a consensus protocol with single-step memory and tunable memory depth, derive the necessary and sufficient condition for achieving consensus, and show that the protocol exhibits an inheritable consensus property across memory depths. Furthermore, analytical expressions for the $H_2$ performance metric, which depend on the memory factor, memory depth, coupling gain, and Laplacian spectrum, are established. Under balanced usage of real-time and memory information, we demonstrate that memory at any accessible depth enhances $H_2$ performance, and the optimal memory depth occurs at either the most recent or the most remote memory, contingent upon certain parameter regions. Further detailed discussions are provided to clarify the broader implications of our findings.
title Robustness Enhancement of Consensus Networks: the Optimal Memory Depth
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.29527