Stability and reachability analysis of a hybrid model of luminescence in the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri

Addresses the mathematical modeling and analysis of the quorum sensing system found in unicellular bacteria that exhibit bioluminescence. The luminescence is governed by the expression of genes in the cell, which in turn is controlled by the density of cells in a population. The paper illustrates the application of standard tools in control theory and some tools in hybrid systems to the quorum sensing system, and demonstrates that bioluminescence can be modeled and understood as the output of a switched dynamical system.