Data-driven Koopman mode approximation: A neural power iteration algorithm

The Koopman operator has gained considerable attention due to its ability to provide a global linear representation of highly complex dynamical systems. The operator describes nonlinear dynamics in a linear way through the lens of real- or complex-valued observable functions. Recently proposed data-driven techniques, like extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD), its kernelized variant, and machine-learning methods, can be used to generate finite-dimensional approximations accompanied by finite-data error bounds. In this tutorial paper, we provide a concise introduction into Koopman operator theory and its use in systems and control. A particular focus is put on data-driven surrogate models, their extension to systems with inputs, and controller design using Koopman operator theory. Moreover, we demonstrate the key techniques, i.e., EDMD and Koopman MPC. To this end, we provide simulation studies including source code on GitHub to enable the interested reader to experience the Koopman operator in systems and control step by step.

Nonlinear coupled systems are ubiquitous in science and engineering. The analysis and modeling of such systems is challenging due to their high dimensionality and complex interactions among subsystems. In recent years, operator-theoretic methods based on the Koopman operator have attracted attention as a powerful tool for analyzing and modeling nonlinear dynamical systems. Extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD) is one of the most popular methods to approximate the Koopman operator. However, EDMD is a purely data-driven method, and it could be unstable and inaccurate for coupled systems under limited data availability. In this paper, we propose a method to learn the Koopman operator for coupled systems using the differential equations governing each subsystem. We also demonstrate its effectiveness through numerical experiments on coupled oscillator systems.

Koopman theory turns nonlinear dynamics into a linear spectral problem. In computation, however, everything depends on a hard finite-dimensional choice: the observables must be expressive, nearly invariant under the dynamics, and, ideally, compatible with composition. Deep Koopman methods learn flexible coordinates, whereas structure-preserving methods enforce operator identities on fixed dictionaries. We combine these ideas by introducing Deep Embedded Multiplicative Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DeepMDMD), a method that learns a latent space and a partition of it, while enforcing the Koopman product rule as an exact algebraic constraint. Training alternates between an exact multiplicative operator update and a differentiable latent-clustering step that promotes Koopman closure. The result is a finite transition map on learned latent cells. Its nonzero spectrum lies on the unit circle, its dictionary is shaped by the dynamics rather than by ambient geometry, and forecasts are made in latent coordinates before being decoded to physical space. Across Hamiltonian, chaotic, and fluid examples, DeepMDMD learns dictionaries that are far more compact and dynamically coherent than those produced by geometric MDMD partitions. It reduces spectral pollution, reveals richer continuous-spectrum structure, and gives stable forecasts under severe noise. In high-dimensional flows, including a 158,624-dimensional cylinder wake and a noisy $Re=20,000$ lid-driven cavity, it preserves coherent structures and long-time spectral statistics where state-space MDMD fails. These results suggest a practical rule for Koopman learning: learn the coordinates, constrain the algebra.