Master-slave synchronization of nonautonomous chaotic systems and its application to rotating pendulums

Some mathematical models in engineering and physics, such as rotating pendulums, governors and phase locked loops in circuits, can be described as nonautonomous systems in which there exist chaotic attractors. This paper investigates master-slave synchronization for two nonautonomous chaotic systems by using time-delayed feedback control. Firstly, three delay-dependent synchronization criteria, which are formulated in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), are established for complete synchronization, lag synchronization and anticipating synchronization, respectively. Secondly, sufficient conditions on the existence of a time-delayed feedback controller are derived by employing these newly-obtained synchronization criteria. The controller gain can be obtained by solving a set of LMIs. Finally, the synchronization criteria and the design method are applied to master-slave synchronization for rotating pendulum systems.