Estimating nonlinear systems in a neighborhood of LTI-approximants

The estimation of linear time invariant (LTI) models is a standard procedure in system identification. Any real-life system will however be nonlinear and time-varying, and the estimated model will converge to the LTI second order equivalent (LTI-SOE) of the true system. In this paper we consider some aspects of this convergence and the distance between the true system and its LTI-SOE. We show that there may be cases where even the slightest nonlinearity may cause big differences in the LTI-SOE. We also show a result that gives conditions which guarantee that the LTI-SOE is close to "the natural" LTI approximant. Finally, an upper bound on the distance between the LTI-SOE of a nonlinear FIR system with a white input signal and the linear part of the system is derived.