The analysis of incremental stability typically involves measuring the distance between any two solutions of a given dynamical system at the same time instant, which is problematic when studying hybrid dynamical systems. Indeed, hybrid systems generate solutions defined with respect to hybrid time instances (that consists of both the continuous time elapsed and the discrete time, which is the number of jumps experienced so far), and two solutions of the same hybrid system may not be defined at the same hybrid time instant. To overcome this issue, we present novel definitions of incremental stability for hybrid systems based on graphical closeness of solutions. As we will show, defining incremental asymptotic stability with respect to the hybrid time yields a restrictive notion, such that we also investigate incremental asymptotic stability notions with respect to the continuous time only or the discrete time only, respectively. In this manner, two (effectively dual) incremental stability notions are attained, called jump- and flow incremental asymptotic stability. To present Lyapunov conditions for these two notions, in both cases, we resort to an extended hybrid system and we prove that the stability of a well-defined set for this extended system implies incremental stability of the original system. We can then use available Lyapunov conditions to infer the set stability of the extended system. Various examples are provided throughout this paper, including an event-triggered control application and a bouncing ball system with Zeno behavior, that illustrate incremental stability with respect to continuous time or discrete time, respectively.

The analysis of incremental stability properties typically involves measuring the distance between any pair of solutions of a given dynamical system, corresponding to different initial conditions, at the same time instant. This approach is not directly applicable for hybrid systems in general. Indeed, hybrid systems generate solutions that are defined with respect to hybrid times, which consist of both the continuous time elapsed and the discrete time, that is the number of jumps the solution has experienced. Two solutions of a hybrid system do not a priori have the same time domain, and we may therefore not be able to compare them at the same hybrid time instant. To overcome this issue, we invoke graphical closeness concepts. We present definitions for incremental stability depending on whether incremental asymptotic stability properties hold with respect to the hybrid time, the continuous time, or the discrete time, respectively. Examples are provided throughout the paper to illustrate these definitions, and the relations between these three incremental stability notions are investigated. The definitions are shown to be consistent with those available in the literature for continuous-time and discrete-time systems.