ABSTRACT
Abstract We study the question of controllability of nonlinear systems in situations where the linearized system is only partially controllable. We discuss examples where such partial controllability is imposed by the physics of the problem. We show by means of examples that characterizing the set of reachable states for the nonlinear system is, in general, a difficult problem. Finally, we discuss the application of the center manifold theorem and results on controllability of “slow” modes.
