  This paper addresses the sensitivity analysis for hybrid systems with
discontinuous (jumping) state trajectories. We consider state-triggered jumps
in the state evolution, potentially accompanied by mode switching in the
control vector field as well. For a given trajectory with state jumps, we show
how to construct an approximation of a nearby perturbed trajectory
corresponding to a small variation of the initial condition and input. A major
complication in the construction of such an approximation is that, in general,
the jump times corresponding to a nearby perturbed trajectory are not equal to
those of the nominal one. The main contribution of this work is the development
of a notion of error to clarify in which sense the approximate trajectory is,
at each instant of time, a firstorder approximation of the perturbed
trajectory. This notion of error naturally finds application in the (local)
tracking problem of a time-varying reference trajectory of a hybrid system. To
illustrate the possible use of this new error definition in the context of
trajectory tracking, we outline how the standard linear trajectory tracking
control for nonlinear systems -based on linear quadratic regulator (LQR) theory
to compute the optimal feedback gain- could be generalized for hybrid systems.
