Fourier Series and Integrals

Fourier Series
Let f (x) be a piecewise linear function on [−L, L] (This means that f (x) may possess
a finite number of finite discontinuities on the interval). Then f (x) can be expanded in a
Fourier series
∞
a0 X nπx nπx
f (x) = + an cos + bn sin , (1a)
2 n=1
L L
or, equivalently,
∞
X
f (x) = cn einπx/L (1b)
−∞

with 
 (an − ibn )/2 n<0
cn = (an + ibn )/2 n>0.
a0 /2 n=0


A useful schematic form of the Fourier series is

f~(x) =
X
(an ĉn + bn ŝn ). (2)
n

This emphasizes that the Fourier series can be viewed as an expansion of a vector f~ in
Hilbert space, in a basis that is spanned by the ĉn (cosine waves of different periodicities)
and the ŝn (sine waves).
To invert the Fourier expansion, multiply Eq. (1) by cos nπxL
or sin nπx
L
and integrate
over the interval. For this calculation, we need the basic orthogonality relation of the basis
functions: Z L
nπx mπx
cos cos dx = δmn L, (3)
−L L L
and similarly for the sin’s. Intuitively, for n 6= m, there is destructive interference of the
two factors in the integrand, while for n = m, there is constructive interference.
Thus by multiplying Eq. (1) by cos nπx
L
and integrating, we obtain
Z L Z L" ∞
#
mπx a0 X nπx nπx mπx
f (x) cos dx = + an cos + bn cos dx, (4)
−L L −L 2 1
L L L

from which we find

L
1 nπx
Z
an = f (x) cos dx. (5a)
L −L L
Similarly, the bn ’s may be found to be
L
1 nπx
Z
bn = f (x) sin dx. (5b)
L −L L

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The inversion of the Fourier series can be viewed as finding the projections of f~ along each
basis direction. Schematically, therefore, the inversion can be represented as

f~ · ĉm =
X X
(an ĉn + bn ŝn ) · ĉm = an δnm = am , (6a)
n

which implies
am = f~ · ĉn . (6b)
These steps parallel the calculation that led to Eq. (5). This schematic representation
emphasizes that the Fourier decomposition of a function is completely analogous to the
expansion of a vector in Hilbert space in an orthogonal basis. The components of the
vector correspond to the various Fourier amplitudes defined in Eqs. (5a) and (5b).

Examples: 1. Square Wave

f(x)

h
x
-2L -L 0 L 2L 3L

Clearly f (x) is an odd function: f (x) = −f (−x). Hence

L
1 nπx
Z
an = f (x) cos dx = 0 ∀n
L −L L

As a result, the spectral information of the square wave is entirely contained in the bn ’s.
These coefficients are
L L
1 nπx 2h nπx 2h
Z Z
bn = f (x) sin dx = sin dx = (1 − cos nπ),
L −L L L 0 L nπ

from which we find

4h/nπ n odd .
n
bn =
0 n even
Thus the square wave can be written as a Fourier sine series
 
4h πx 1 3πx 1 5πx
f (x) = sin + sin + sin +··· . (7)
π L 3 L 5 L

There are a number of important general facts about this expansion that are worth em-
phasizing:
• Since f (x) is odd, only odd powers of the antisymmetric basis functions appear.

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• At the discontinuities of f (x), the Fourier series converges to the mean of the two
values of f (x) on either side of the discontinuity.
• A picture of first few terms of the series demonstrates the nature of the convergence
to the square wave; each successive term in the series attempts to correct for the
“overshoot” present in the sum of all the previous terms

one term

two terms

three terms

ten terms

• The amplitude spectrum decays as 1/n; this indicates that a square wave can be
well-represented by the fundamental frequency plus the first few harmonics.

• By examining the series for particular values of x, useful summation formulae may
sometimes be found. For example, setting x = L/2 in the Fourier sine series gives

 
4h π 1 3π 1 5π
f (x = L/2) = h = sin + sin + sin +···
π 2 3 2 5 2

and this leads to a nice (but slowly converging) series representation for π/4:

π
= (1 − 1/3 + 1/5 − 1/7 + 1/9 · · ·).
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Alternatively we may represent the square wave as an even function.

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 f(x)

h
x
-2L -L 0 L 2L 3L

Now f (x) = +f (−x). By symmetry, then, bn = 0 ∀n, and only the an ’s are non-zero.
For these coefficients we find

1 L nπx 2 L nπx
Z Z
an = f (x) cos = f (x) cos
L −L L L 0 L
"Z #
L/2 Z L
2h nπx nπx
= cos dx − cos dx
L 0 L L/2 L
"Z #
nπ/2 Z nπ
2h
= cos t dt − cos t dt
nπ 0 nπ/2

2h h nπ/2
i
= sin t |0 − sin t |nπ
nπ/2
nπ

4h (n−1)/2
= nπ (−1) n odd .
0 n even

Hence f (x) can be also represented as the Fourier cosine series

 
4h πx 1 3πx 1 5πx
f (x) = cos − cos + cos ··· . (8)
π L 3 L 5 L

This example illustrates the use of symmetry in determining a Fourier series,

even function −→ cosine series
odd function −→ sine series
no symmetry −→ both sine and cosine series

Thus it is always simpler to choose an origin so that f (x) has a definite symmetry, so that
it can be represented by either a sin or cosine series

2. Repeated Parabola
This is the periodic extension of the function x2 , in the range [−π, π], to the entire real line.
Given any function defined on the interval [a, b], the periodic extension may be constructed
in a similar fashion. In general, we can Fourier expand any function on a finite range; the
Fourier series will converge to the periodic extension of the function.

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 −3π −π π 3π

The Fourier expansion of the repeated parabola gives

bn = 0 ∀n
π
1 2π 2
Z
a0 = x2 dx =
π −π 3
Z π
2 4
an = x2 cos nx dx = (−1)n 2
π 0 n

Thus we can represent the repeated parabola as a Fourier cosine series

∞
π22
X (−1)n
f (x) = x = +4 2
cos nx. (9)
3 n=1
n

Notice several interesting facts:

• The a0 term represents the average value of the function. For this example, this
average is non-zero.

• Since f is even, the Fourier series has only cosine terms.

• There are no discontinuities in f , but first derivative is discontinuous; this implies that
the amplitude spectrum decays as 1/n2 . In general, the “smoother” the function,
the faster the decay of the amplitude spectrum as a function of n. Consequently,
progressively fewer terms in the Fourier series are needed to represent the waveform
to a fixed degree of accuracy.
• Setting x = π in the series gives
∞
2 π2 X (−1)n
π = +4 cos nπ
3 n=1
n2

from which we find

∞
π2 X 1
=
6 n=1
n2
This provides an indirect, but simple, way to sum inverse powers of the integers. One
simply Fourier expands the Pfunction xk on the interval [−π, π] and then
P∞ evaluates the
∞ −k −z
series at x = π from which n=1 n can be computed. The sum n=1 n ≡ ζ(z),
is called the Riemann zeta function, and by this Fourier series trick the zeta function
can be evaluated for all positive integer values of z.

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In summary, a Fourier series represents a spectral decomposition of a periodic waveform
into a series of harmonics of various frequencies. From the relative amplitudes of these
harmonics we can gain understanding of the physical process underlying the waveform. For
example, one perceives in an obvious way the different tonal quality of an oboe and a violin.
The origin of this difference are the very different Fourier spectra of these two instruments.
Even if the same note is being played, the different “shapes” of the two instruments
(string for the violin; air column for the oboe) imply very different contributions of higher
harmonics. This translates into very different respective Fourier spectra, and hence, very
different musical tones.

Fourier Integrals
For non-periodic functions, we generalize the Fourier series to functions defined on
[−L, L] with L → ∞. To accomplish this, we take Eq. (5),
L
1 nπx
Z
an = f (x) cos dk
L −L L

and now let k = nπ/L ≡ n dk. Then as L → ∞, we obtain

Z ∞
A(k) ≡ an L = f (x) cos kx dx (10a)
−∞

and, by following the same procedure,

Z ∞
B(k) ≡ bn L = f (x) sin kx dx (10b)
−∞

Now the original Fourier series becomes

X nπx nπx
f (x) = an cos + bn sin
n
L L
(11a)
X A(k) B(k) 1 ∞
Z
= cos kx + sin kx → A(k) cos kx dk + B(k) sin kx dk.
n
L L π k=0

By using the exponential form of the Fourier series, we have the alternative, but more
familiar and convenient Fourier integral representation of f (x),
Z ∞
1
f (x) = √ f (k)eikx dk. (11b)
2π −∞
√
Where the (arbitrary) prefactor is chosen to be 1/ 2π for convenience, as the same pref-
actor appears in the definition of the inverse Fourier transform. In symbolic form, the
Fourier integral can be represented as

f~ =
X
fk êk .
continuous sum on k

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To find the expansion coefficients f (k), one proceeds in precisely the same manner as in
the case of Fourier series. That is, multiply f (x) by one of the basis functions and integrate
over a suitable range. This gives
Z ∞ Z ∞Z ∞
−ik′ x 1 ′
f (x)e dx = √ f (k)ei(k−k )x dx dk (12)
−∞ 2π −∞ −∞

However, the integral over x is just the Dirac delta function. To see this, we write
∞ L
2 sin(k − k ′ )L
Z Z
i(k−k′ )x ′
e dx = lim ei(k−k )x dx = (13a)
−∞ L→∞ −L k − k′

The function on the right-hand side is peaked at k = k ′ , with the height of the peak equal
to 2L, and a width equal to π/L. As L → ∞, the peak becomes infinitely high and narrow
in such a way that the integral under the curve remains a constant. This constant equals
2π. Thus we write Z ∞
′
ei(k−k )x dx = 2πδ(k − k ′ ) (13b)
−∞

Using this result in Eq. (12), we obtain

∞
1
Z
f (k) = √ f (x)e−ikx dx (14).
2π −∞

Schematically,
f~ · êk′ = f~k êk · êk′ ⇒ fk = f~ · êk .
X

These developments can be extended in a straightforward way to multidimensional

functions.

Examples 1. Square Wave 

1 |t| < T /2
f (t) =
0 |t| > T /2.
Then
T /2
1 T sin ωT /2
Z
f (ω) = √ eiωt dt = √ . (15)
2π −T /2 2π ωT /2

f(t) f(ω)

1
t 1/T
ω
T
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 Notice that there is an inverse relationship between the width of f (t) and the width of
the corresponding Fourier transform f (ω). The Fourier spectrum is concentrated at zero
frequency; these conspire to give destructive interference except in the range |t| < T /2.

2. Damped Harmonic Wave

f (t) = keiω0 t−αt t>0

∞
1 1 1
Z
f (ω) = √ eαt+i(ω0 −ω)t = √
2π 0 2π [α − i(ω0 − ω)]

or

|f (ω)| ∼ [α2 + (ω0 − ω)2 ]−1/2 (16)

This latter waveform is often called a Lorentzian. The relation between the damped
harmonic wave the its Fourier transform are shown below for the case ω0 = 1 and α = 1/4
1.0 4

f(t)=sint(ω0t)e
−αt |f(ω)|
0.5
3
1/α

2
0.0
t
1 α
−0.5
0 10 20 30
0
ω−ω0
−4 −2 0 2 4

As the damping goes to zero, the width of the Lorentzian also vanishes. This em-
bodies the fact that a less weakly-damped waveform is less contaminated with frequency
components not equal to ω0 . Clearly, as the damping goes to zero, only the fundamental
frequency remains, and the Fourier transform is a delta function.

3. Gaussian

1 2
/2t20
f (t) = p e−t
2πt20

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 To calculate this Fourier transform, complete the square in the exponential:
Z ∞
1 2 2
f (ω) = p 2 e−t /2t0 −iωt dt
2πt0 −∞
Z ∞
1 2 2 2 2 2 2
=p e−t /2t0 −iωt+ω t2 /2−ω t2 /2 dt
2πt20 −∞
Z ∞
1 √ √ 2 2 2 (17)
=p 2 e−(t/ 2t0 −iωt0 / 2) −ω t2 /2 dt
2πt0 −∞
Z ∞
1 √ 2 2 2
=√ e−(u−iωt0 / 2) −ω t2 /2 dt
π −∞
2 2
t0 /2
= e−ω .

√
In the second-to-last line, we introduce u = t/ 2t0 , and for the last line we use the
R∞ 2 √
fact that −∞ e−u du = π. The crucial point is that the Fourier transform of a Gaussian
is also a Gaussian! The width of the transform function equal to the inverse width of the
original waveform.

4. Finite Wave Train

f (t) = cos ω0 t = Re(eiω0 t ) 0<t<T

Then
T
1 1 ei(ω0 −ω)T − 1
Z
f (ω) = √ ei(ω0 −ω)t dt = √
2π 0 2π i(ω0 − ω)

ei(ω0 −ω)T /2 2 sin(ω0 − ω)T /2

= √ .
2π ω0 − ω

1.2 0.6
|f(ω)|
0.4
0.4
1/T
0.2
T
−0.4
0.0

T
ω−ω0
−1.2 −0.2
0 10 20 30 −40 −20 0 20 40

The behavior of the finite wavetrain is closely analogous to that of the damped harmonic
wave. The shorter the duration of the wavetrain, the more its Fourier transform is con-
taminated with other frequencies beyond the fundamental.

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 Wavevector Quantization
In certain applications, typically in solid state physics or other problems defined on
a lattice, f (x) is defined only on a discrete, periodic set points. The discreteness yields a
condition of the range of possible wavevectors as well as the number of normal modes in
the system. As a typical example, consider the transverse oscillations of a loaded string
of length L = 4a which contains 5 point masses, with both endpoints held fixed. There
are a discrete set of normal mode oscillations for this system; these modes and their
corresponding wavevectors kn = nπ 4a
are shown below. Also shown is the corresponding
continuous waveform, sin kn x (dashed).

k=0
0 a 2a 3a 4a

k = π/4a

k = 2π/4a

k = 3π/4a

k = 4π/4a

Notice that k = π/a and k = 0 give identical displacement patterns for the discrete
system. Therefore in defining the Fourier transform, it is redundant to consider values of k
such that k ≥ π/a. The range 0 < k < π/a is called the first Brillouin zone in the context of
solid-state physics. Thus when performing a Fourier analysis on a discrete system (either
Fourier series or Fourier integral), one must account for the restriction imposed by the
system discreteness in defining the appropriate range of k values.

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