Chapter 3

Fourier Series Representation

Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier

 Introduction
• A Fourier series is an expansion of a periodic function 𝑓 𝑥 in terms of an infinite sum of sines and
cosines (orthogonal functions, harmonic analysis).

• Most of the phenomena studied in the domain of Engineering and Science are periodic in nature.
(current and voltage in an alternating current circuit)
 The response of LTI systems to complex exponentials
• For the study of LTI systems we represent signals as linear combinations of basic signals (unit impulse
𝛿(𝑡) , complex exponential 𝑒 𝑠𝑡 ,…).

• The response of an LTI system to a complex exponential input is the same complex exponential with
only a change in amplitude.

𝐻(𝑠) and 𝐻(𝑧) are the amplitude factor

(complex function of complex variable).

• A signal for which the system output is a (possibly complex) constant times the input is referred to as
an Eigenfunction of the system, and the amplitude factor is referred to as the system's Eigenvalue.
The input is an Eigenfunction

𝑥(𝑡) System 𝐻 𝑥(𝑡)

The constant H is the Eigenvalue

The output of the system is a constant times the input

 Continuous time case
Complex exponentials are eigenfunctions of LTI systems

LTI System
𝑥(𝑡) 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝐻 𝑥(𝑡)
ℎ(𝑡)

∞
IF: 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑒 𝑠𝑡 (the input a complex exponential) y 𝑡 = න ℎ(𝜏) 𝑒 𝑠(𝑡−𝜏) dτ convolution
−∞
𝑒 𝑎−𝑏 = 𝑒 𝑎 𝑒 −𝑏 ∞ ∞
y 𝑡 = න ℎ(𝜏) 𝑒 𝑠𝑡 𝑒 −𝑠𝜏 dτ = න ℎ(𝜏) 𝑒 −𝑠𝜏 dτ 𝑒 𝑠𝑡
−∞ −∞ We can see the input at the output

∞
𝑦 𝑡 =𝐻 𝑠 𝑒 𝑠𝑡 Where: 𝐻 𝑠 = ‫׬‬−∞ ℎ(𝜏) 𝑒 −𝑠𝜏 𝑑𝜏

The complex constant H(s) for a specific value of 𝑠 is the ‘Eigenvalue’ associated
with the Eigenfunction 𝑒 𝑠𝑡 .
 Discrete time case
Complex exponential sequences are eigenfunctions of discrete-time LTI systems.

LTI System
𝑥[𝑛] 𝑦 𝑛 = 𝐻 𝑥[𝑛]
ℎ[𝑛]
∞

IF: 𝑥 𝑛 = 𝑧 𝑛 (the input sequence) 𝑦 𝑛 = ෍ ℎ 𝑘 𝑥[𝑛 − 𝑘]

𝑘=−∞
∞ ∞ ∞

𝑦 𝑛 = ෍ ℎ 𝑘 𝑧 𝑛−𝑘 = ෍ ℎ 𝑘 𝑧 𝑛 𝑧 −𝑘 = 𝑧 𝑛 ෍ ℎ 𝑘 𝑧 −𝑘
𝑘=−∞ 𝑘=−∞ 𝑘=−∞
We can see the input at the output

𝑦 𝑛 = 𝐻[𝑧] 𝑧 𝑛 With 𝐻[𝑧] = σ∞

𝑘=−∞ ℎ 𝑘 𝑧 −𝑘

• The complex exponentials are ‘eigenfunctions’ of LTI systems.

• The constant H(z) for a specific value of z is the ‘Eigenvalue’ associated with the
Eigen-function 𝑧 𝑛 .
 Fourier Series Representation of Continuous
Time Periodic Signals
1. Linear combination of harmonically related complex exponentials

A signal is periodic, if, for some positive value of T, (1)

The fundamental period of 𝑥(𝑡) is the minimum, positive, nonzero value of T for which
equation (1) is satisfied.
Sinusoidal: fundamental frequency:
Basic periodic signals:
Complex exponential:
Harmonically related signals
with the complex exponential:
Fourier series representation of a periodic signal 𝑥(𝑡) with period T
The term for k = 0 is a constant.
The terms for 𝑘 = ±1 are the ‘first harmonic components’ or ‘fundamental
component’.
The terms for 𝑘 = ±2 are the ‘second harmonic component’.
The terms for 𝑘 = ±𝑁 are the ‘Nth harmonic component’.
 Example
Consider a periodic signal 𝑥(𝑡) with fundamental frequency 2𝜋,
expressed as:
+

where,
+

With these values, the periodic signal 𝑥(𝑡) can be re-written as:
+

with, =

We obtain,
 Determination of the Fourier Series Representation
of a Continuous-time Periodic Signal
We need to determine the coefficients 𝑎𝑘 , to express a periodic
continuous signal 𝑥(𝑡) with a fundamental period 𝑇 and a
2𝜋
fundamental frequency 𝜔0 = as a Fourier series
𝑇

Find 𝑎𝑘 : Multiply both sides by 𝑒 −𝑗𝑛𝜔0 𝑡

Integrating from 0 to T

Using Euler’s Formula

𝑒 𝑗𝜃 = cos 𝜃 + 𝑗𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃

For 𝑘 ≠ 𝑛 Kronecker Delta:

For 𝑘 = 𝑛
 Fourier Series Representation : Continued
𝛿𝑛𝑘 = 1 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑘 = 𝑛

𝑎𝑘 are called Fourier series coefficients,

or spectral coefficients

Synthesis equation:

Analysis equation:

For 𝑘 = 0: 𝑎0 is the DC component

 Fourier Series Representation : Example 1
A CT signal with fundamental frequency 𝜔0 : 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜔0 𝑡 , determine its Fourier series

Using Euler’s formula:

(1)

Comparing with Fourier synthesis equation(matching terms of (1) and (2)):

∞

𝑥 𝑡 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡 = ⋯ + 𝑎−2 𝑒 −𝑗2𝜔0 𝑡 + 𝑎−1 𝑒 −𝑗𝜔0 𝑡 + 𝑎0 + 𝑎1 𝑒 𝑗𝜔0 𝑡 + 𝑎2 𝑒 𝑗2𝜔0 𝑡 + ⋯ (2)

𝑘=−∞

We get, and
 Fourier Series Representation : Example 2
Determine Fourier series of:

Comparing with Fourier series expansion,

𝑧 = 𝑎2 + 𝑏2
𝑧 = 𝑎 + 𝑗𝑏 → 𝑏
∡𝑧 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1
𝑎

Plots of the magnitude and phase of the Fourier coefficients

 Fourier Series Representation : Example 3
Determine the Fourier series of a periodic
square wave, defined over one period as:

Analysis equation:

𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑘 = 0

𝜋𝑎𝑘
Plots of the scaled Fourier
series coefficients for 𝑇 = 4𝑇1
 Fourier series representation of the square wave
Fourier series can be used to represent (approximating) an extremely large class of periodic signals,
including the square wave, by a linear combination of a finite number of harmonically related complex
exponentials 𝑥 (𝑡)
𝑁
𝑥(𝑡)

𝑁=1 𝑁=3 𝑁=7

the approximation error Gibbs’ phenomenon

0
𝑁→∞

𝑁 = 19 𝑁 = 79

Convergence of the Fourier series representation of a square wave

 Fourier Series Representation : Example 4
A continuous-time periodic signal 𝑥(𝑡) is real-valued and has a fundamental period 𝑇 = 8 . The non-zero
∗
Fourier series coefficients for 𝑥(𝑡) are 𝑎1 = 𝑎−1 = 2, 𝑎3 = 𝑎−3 = 4𝑗. (𝑎−3 = −4𝑗)
• Express 𝑥(𝑡) in the form: 𝑥 𝑡 = σ∞
𝑘=0 𝐴𝑘 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔𝑘 𝑡 + 𝜑𝑘 𝜔𝑘 = 𝑘𝜔0
• Find 𝐴𝑘 , 𝜔𝑘 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝜑𝑘

= ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0𝑡
𝑘=−3

𝑠𝑖𝑛

𝜋 𝜋 𝜋
𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔𝑡 + = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑠 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜔𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑛
2 2 2 𝑐𝑜𝑠
𝜋
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜔𝑡 = −𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜔𝑡 +
2
 Fourier Series Representation : Example 5
For the continuous-time periodic signal,

Determine the fundamental frequency 𝜔0 and the

Fourier series coefficients 𝑎𝑘 such that:
2𝜋 𝜔1 1 5𝜋 5
𝜔1 = → 𝑓1 = = 𝜔 2 = → 𝑓2 =
3 2𝜋 3 3 6
𝑓0 = 𝐺𝐶𝐷 𝑓1 , 𝑓2 , → 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑖 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓0
1 5 𝐺𝐶𝐷 1,5 1 𝜋
𝑓0 = 𝐺𝐶𝐷 , = = → 𝜔0 = 2𝜋𝑓0 =
3 6 𝐿𝐶𝑀 3,6 6 3

GCD: Greatest Common Divisor or Highest Common Factor (HCF)

54 × 1 = 27 × 2 = 18 × 3 = 9 × 6
the complete
list of divisors 1,2,3,6,9,18,27,54
𝐺𝐶𝐷 54,24 = 6 24 × 1 = 12 × 2 = 8 × 3 = 6 × 4
1,2,3,4,6,8,12,24
LCM: Least Common Multiple
54 × 24
𝐿𝐶𝑀 54,24 = = 216
𝐺𝐶𝐷 54,24
54, 108,162, 216, 270, 324, …
+⋯
24, 48, 72, 96, 120,144,168,192, 216, 240, …
 Properties of Continuous-Time Fourier Series
Fourier series representations possess a number of important properties that are useful for reducing the
complexity of the evaluation of the Fourier series of many signals.
For a periodic signal 𝑥(𝑡) with period 𝑇 and fundamental frequency 𝜔0 = 2𝜋/𝑇
𝐹𝑆
Periodic signal 𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘 Fourier series coefficients
 Properties of Continuous-Time Fourier Series
1 Linearity: 𝑥 𝑡
𝐹𝑆
𝑎𝑘
two periodic signals 𝑥 𝑡 and 𝑦 𝑡 𝐹𝑆
𝐹𝑆 𝑔 𝑡 = 𝐴𝑥 𝑡 + 𝐵𝑦(𝑡) 𝐴 𝑎𝑘 + 𝐵 𝑏𝑘
With same period 𝑇0 𝑦 𝑡 𝑏𝑘
2 Time-Shifting: 𝐹𝑆
𝑥 𝑡 − 𝑡0
𝐹𝑆
𝑎𝑘 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡0 Same magnitudes
𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘

proof
∞
∞ ∞ ∞
𝑗𝑘𝜔0 (𝑡)
𝑥 𝑡 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 𝑥 𝑡 − 𝑡0 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0(𝑡−𝑡0) = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0𝑡0 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0𝑡 = ෍ 𝑏𝑘 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0𝑡
𝑘=−∞
𝑘=−∞ 𝑘=−∞ 𝑘=−∞

Example Find the Fourier series of the signal 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑥 𝑡 + 1 + 𝑥(𝑡 − 1) if: 𝑥 𝑡

𝐹𝑆
𝑎𝑘
Solution Using Time-Shifting Property 𝑥 𝑡+1
𝐹𝑆
𝑎𝑘 𝑒 +𝑗𝑘𝜔0 and 𝐹𝑆
𝑥 𝑡−1 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0
𝐹𝑆
Using Linearity Property 𝐴𝑥 𝑡 + 𝐵𝑦(𝑡) 𝐴 𝑎𝑘 + 𝐵 𝑏𝑘
𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑥 𝑡 + 1 + 𝑥(𝑡 − 1) 𝐹𝑆
𝐹𝑆 𝑦 𝑡 2𝑎𝑘 cos 𝑘𝜔0
𝑦 𝑡 𝑏𝑘 = 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 +𝑗𝑘𝜔0 + 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 = 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 +𝑗𝑘𝜔0 + 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0
3 Frequency-Shifting: Proof: 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎

𝐹𝑆 1 1
𝐹𝑆 𝑏𝑘 = න 𝑒 𝑗𝑀𝜔0 𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = න 𝑥 𝑡 𝑒 −𝑗(𝑘−𝑀)𝜔0𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑎𝑘−𝑀
𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 𝑗𝑀𝜔0 𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘−𝑀 𝑇 𝑇

Example Find the Fourier series 𝑏𝑘 of the signal 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑒 −𝑗2𝜔0𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 if: 𝑥 𝑡 𝐹𝑆

𝑎𝑘
𝐹𝑆 𝐹𝑆
Solution Using Frequency-Shifting Property 𝑒 𝑗𝑚𝜔0𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘−𝑚 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑒 𝑗(−2)𝜔0𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 𝑏𝑘 = 𝑎𝑘+2

4 Time-Reversal: 𝑥 𝑡 even

𝐹𝑆 𝐹𝑆 𝑥 −𝑡 = 𝑥(𝑡) 𝑎−𝑘 = 𝑎𝑘 𝑎𝑘 are real even

𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘 𝑥 −𝑡 𝑎−𝑘
𝑥 𝑡 odd

Proof: 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑛 = −𝑘 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑥 −𝑡 = −𝑥(𝑡) 𝑎−𝑘 = −𝑎𝑘 𝑎𝑘 are imaginary and odd

Example Find the Fourier series 𝑏𝑘 of the signal 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑥(𝑡) if: 𝑥 𝑡
𝐹𝑆
𝑎𝑘
Solution We know that 𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑥 𝑡 −𝑥(−𝑡) Using Time-Reversal Property 𝑥 −𝑡
𝐹𝑆
𝑎−𝑘
2
𝑥 𝑡 − 𝑥(−𝑡) 𝐹𝑆 𝑎𝑘 − 𝑎−𝑘 Linearity and Time-Reversal properties
𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑏𝑘 =
2 2
5 Parseval’s Relation for Periodic Signals: proof ∞
Average power of 𝑥 𝑡 1
𝑃𝑥 = න 𝑥(𝑡) 2
1 1
𝑑𝑡 = න 𝑥 𝑡 𝑥 ∗ (𝑡) 𝑑𝑡 = න 𝑥 𝑡 ෍ 𝑎𝑘∗ 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇 𝑇 𝑇 𝑇 𝑇 𝑇
∞ 𝑘=−∞
∞ ∞ ∞
1 2 2 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘∗
1
න 𝑥 𝑡 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑎𝑘∗ = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 2
𝑃𝑥 = න 𝑥(𝑡) 𝑑𝑡 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑇 𝑇
𝑇 𝑇 𝑘=−∞ 𝑘=−∞ 𝑘=−∞
𝑘=−∞ 𝑎𝑘

𝑎𝑘
Example: Find the average power of signal 𝑥 𝑡 when 𝑎𝑘 is given as: 4 4
2

Solution ∞
−2 −1 0 1 2 𝑘
2
𝑃𝑥 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 = 16 + 4 + 16 = 36 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠
𝑘=−∞

6 Time-Scaling:
𝑥 𝑡 Period 𝑇 and frequency 𝜔0 𝑥 𝛼𝑡 Period 𝑇/𝛼and frequency 𝛼𝜔0

𝐹𝑆 𝐹𝑆 𝑇0
𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘 𝑥 𝛼𝑡 𝑎𝑘 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 → 𝑇 =
𝛼
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞 → 𝜔 = 𝛼𝜔0
7 Multiplication:
proof
two periodic signals 𝑥 𝑡 and 𝑦 𝑡

𝐹𝑆
𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘 ∞
𝐹𝑆
𝐹𝑆 𝑥 𝑡 𝑦 𝑡 𝑐𝑘 = ෍ 𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑘−𝑙 𝑚 =𝑘+𝑙
→𝑘 =𝑚−𝑙
𝑦 𝑡 𝑏𝑘 𝑙=−∞

8 Differentiation:
proof
∞ ∞ ∞
𝑑𝑥(𝑡) 𝑑 𝑑 𝑗𝑘𝜔 𝑡
= ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 0 = ෍ [𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑎𝑘 ]𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡
𝐹𝑆 𝑑𝑥(𝑡) 𝐹𝑆 2𝜋 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑘=−∞ 𝑘=−∞
𝑑𝑡
𝑘=−∞
𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘 𝑏𝑘 = 𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑎𝑘 = 𝑗𝑘 𝑎
𝑑𝑡 𝑇 𝑘

2
Example Find the Fourier series 𝑏𝑘 of the signal 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑑 𝑥 2𝑡 if: 𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘
𝑑𝑡
Solution Using Differentiation Property 𝑦 𝑡 𝐹𝑆
𝑗𝑘𝜔0 2 𝑎𝑘 𝑏𝑘 = −𝑘 2 𝜔0 2 𝑎𝑘
9 Integration:
𝑡
𝐹𝑆 𝐹𝑆 1 𝑇
𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘 𝑦 𝑡 = න 𝑥 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑏𝑘 = 𝑎𝑘 = 𝑎 𝑘≠0
−∞ 𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑗𝑘2𝜋 𝑘

10 Periodic Convolution:
𝐹𝑆
𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘
𝐹𝑆
𝐹𝑆 𝑧 𝑡 = 𝑥 𝑡 ∗ 𝑦(𝑡) 𝑇𝑎𝑘 𝑏𝑘
𝑦 𝑡 𝑏𝑘

𝑇 1 𝑇 𝑇 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝜏
proof 𝑐𝑘 = 1 න[𝑥 𝑡 ∗ 𝑦(𝑡)]𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 1 න[න 𝑥 𝜏 𝑦 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑑𝜏]𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = න න 𝑥 𝜏 𝑦 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇 𝑇 𝑇 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝜏
0 0 0

1 𝑇 𝑇 𝑡 − 𝜏 = 𝑚 → 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑑𝑚
−𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝜏 𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝜏 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡
= න න 𝑥 𝜏 𝑒 𝑦 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 𝑒 𝑒 𝑑𝑡 𝑡 = 0 → 𝑚 = −𝜏
𝑇 0 0
𝑡 =𝑇 →𝑚 =𝑇−𝜏
𝑇 𝑇
1 1 𝑇 1 𝑇−𝜏
= න 𝑥 𝜏 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 න 𝑦 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 (𝑡−𝜏) 𝑑𝑡 = න 𝑥 𝜏 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 𝑇 න 𝑦 𝑚 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 (𝑚) 𝑑𝑚 = 𝑇𝑎𝑘 𝑏𝑘
𝑇 0 0 𝑇 0 𝑇 −𝜏
11 Conjugate and conjugate Symmetry for real signals:
∗
𝑥 𝑡 is real 𝑎−𝑘 = 𝑎𝑘
𝐹𝑆 𝐹𝑆 ∗
𝑥 𝑡 𝑎𝑘 𝑥∗ 𝑡 𝑎−𝑘 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑥 ∗ (𝑡) 𝑎𝑘 = 𝑎−𝑘

proof

𝑘 = −𝑘
1 1 1 𝐹𝑆
∗
𝑎𝑘 = න 𝑥(𝑡)𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0𝑡 𝑎𝑘∗ = න 𝑥 ∗ (𝑡)𝑒 +𝑗𝑘𝜔0𝑡
∗
𝑎−𝑘 = න 𝑥 ∗ (𝑡)𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡 𝑥∗ 𝑡 𝑎−𝑘
𝑇0 𝑇0 𝑇0
Conjugate of 𝑥 𝑡

Example Find the Fourier series 𝑏𝑘 of the signal 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑥 𝑡 if: 𝑥 𝑡 𝐹𝑆

𝑎𝑘

𝑥 𝑡 + 𝑥 ∗ 𝑡 𝐹𝑆 ∗
Solution We know that: 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑥 𝑡 = Using Conjugation Property 𝑥 ∗ 𝑡 𝑎−𝑘
2
∗
𝑥 𝑡 +𝑥 𝑡 ∗
𝐹𝑆 𝑎𝑘 + 𝑎−𝑘
𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑦 𝑡 𝑏𝑘 =
2 2

𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑥𝑟 𝑡 + 𝑗𝑥𝑖 𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 + 𝑥∗ 𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 − 𝑥∗ 𝑡
ቊ ∗ 𝑥𝑟 𝑡 = and 𝑥𝑖 𝑡 =
𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑥𝑟 𝑡 − 𝑗𝑥𝑖 𝑡 2 2𝑗
 Problem 1
Consider three continuous-time periodic signals whose Fourier
series representations are as follows:
Use Fourier series properties to help answer the following questions:
(a) Which of the three signals is/are even?
(b) Which of the three signals is/are real valued?
∞
Fourier series representation: 𝑥 𝑡 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0𝑡
2𝜋
For 𝑥1 (𝑡) ω0 = 𝑘=−∞
50 For 𝑥1 (𝑡) to be even: 𝑥1 𝑡 = 𝑥1 (−𝑡) 𝑎k = 𝑎−k
∗
For 𝑥1 (𝑡) to be real : 𝑥1∗ 𝑡 = 𝑥1 𝑡 𝑎−𝑘 = 𝑎𝑘
𝑘 100 𝑘
1 1 −𝑗𝑘
2𝜋
𝑡
𝑎k = , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑘 = 0, 1, 2, ⋯ , 100 𝑥1 −𝑡 = ෍ 𝑒 50
2 2
𝑘=0
𝑎k = 0, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑘 > 100 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑘 < 0
𝑘 = −𝑘 0 −𝑘 100 𝑘
1 10 1 2𝜋
𝑗𝑘 50 𝑡 1 2𝜋
𝑗𝑘 50 𝑡
However, here 𝑎10 = 2 = ෍ 𝑒 ≠෍ 𝑒 = 𝑥1 (𝑡)
2 2
𝑘=−100 𝑘=0
∗ ∗
𝑎−10 = 0 → 𝑎−10 = 0 → 𝑎10 ≠ 𝑎−10
𝑥1 (𝑡) is not even.
𝑥1 (𝑡) is not real.
 ∞
For 𝑥2 (𝑡) 𝑥 𝑡 = ෍ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒 𝑗𝑘𝜔0𝑡
𝑘=−∞

2𝜋 𝑎k = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝑘𝜋 , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 − 100 ≤ 𝑘 ≤ 100

ω0 =
50 𝑎k = 0, 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒

∗
For 𝑥2 (𝑡) to be real: 𝑎−𝑘 = 𝑎𝑘 For 𝑥2 (𝑡) to be even: 𝑥2 𝑡 = 𝑥2 −𝑡 , and 𝑎k = 𝑎−k

∗
𝑎−𝑘 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 −𝑘𝜋
∗
= 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝑘𝜋 = 𝑎k 𝑎k = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝑘𝜋

𝑎−k = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 −𝑘𝜋 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝑘𝜋

𝑅𝑒 𝑎k = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝑘𝜋 , 𝑅𝑒 𝑎−k = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 −𝑘𝜋 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝑘𝜋
𝑎k = 𝑎−k
𝑅𝑒 𝑎k = 𝑅𝑒 𝑎−k

𝐼𝑚 𝑎k = 0 = 𝐼𝑚 𝑎−k 𝑥2 (𝑡) is even.

𝑎k = 𝑎−k , ∡𝑎k = 0 = ∡𝑎−k

𝑥2 (𝑡) is real.
 2𝜋 𝑎k = 𝑗 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝜋/2 , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 − 100 ≤ 𝑘 ≤ 100
For 𝑥3 (𝑡) ω0 =
50 𝑎k = 0, 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒

∗
For 𝑥3 (𝑡) to be real: 𝑎−𝑘 = 𝑎𝑘
𝑎k = 𝑗 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝜋/2 For 𝑥3 (𝑡) to be even: 𝑎k = 𝑎−k
∗ 𝑘𝜋 𝑘𝜋
𝑎−𝑘 = −𝑗 𝑠𝑖𝑛 − = 𝑗 𝑠𝑖𝑛 = 𝑎𝑘
2 2 𝑘𝜋 𝑘𝜋
𝑎−𝑘 = 𝑗 𝑠𝑖𝑛 − = −𝑗𝑠𝑖𝑛 = −𝑎𝑘
𝑅𝑒 𝑎k = 0 = 𝑅𝑒 𝑎−k 2 2

𝐼𝑚 𝑎k = −𝐼𝑚 𝑎−k 𝑎−𝑘 ≠ 𝑎𝑘

𝑎𝑘 = 𝑗 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝜋/2 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝜋/2
𝑎−𝑘 = 𝑗 𝑠𝑖𝑛 −𝑘𝜋/2 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝜋/2 𝑥3 (𝑡) is not even.
𝑎𝑘 = 𝑎−𝑘
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝜋/2
∡𝑎k = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 ∞ = 𝜋/2
0
−1
𝑠𝑖𝑛 −𝑘𝜋/2
∡𝑎−k = 𝑡𝑎𝑛 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 −∞ = −𝜋/2
0
∡𝑎k = −∡𝑎−k

𝑥3 (𝑡) is real.
 Problem 2
Suppose we are given the following information about a signal 𝑥(𝑡):
(1) 𝑥(𝑡) is real and odd.
(2) 𝑥(𝑡) is periodic with period T = 2, and has Fourier coefficients 𝑎𝑘 :
(3) 𝑎𝑘 = 0 for 𝑘 > 1.
1 2 2
(4) ‫׬‬0 𝑥(𝑡) 𝑑𝑡 = 1. Specify a signal that satisfies these conditions.
2

Fourier series representation: 𝑥 𝑡 = σ∞

𝑘=−∞ 𝑎𝑘 𝑒
𝑗𝑘𝜔0 𝑡
From (2): 2𝜋 2𝜋
𝜔0 = = =𝜋 1 2 2
𝑇 2 From (4): ‫׬‬ 𝑥(𝑡) 𝑑𝑡 = 1.
2 0
From (3): 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑎0 + 𝑎1 𝑒 𝑗𝜋 𝑡 + 𝑎−1 𝑒 −𝑗𝜋 𝑡
𝑥 ∗ (𝑡) = 𝑎1∗ 𝑒 −𝑗𝜋𝑡 − 𝑒 𝑗𝜋𝑡
From (1): 𝑎0 = 0, because 𝑥(𝑡) is odd. 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑎1 𝑒 𝑗𝜋𝑡 − 𝑒 −𝑗𝜋𝑡
𝑥(𝑡) is odd (𝑎𝑘 = −𝑎−𝑘 )
𝑎−1 = −𝑎1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎1 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑥 𝑡 2
= 𝑥 𝑡 𝑥 ∗ (𝑡) = 𝑎1 𝑎1∗ 1 − 𝑒 𝑗2𝜋𝑡 − 𝑒 −𝑗2𝜋𝑡 + 1
= 𝑎1 𝑎1∗ 2 − 2𝑐𝑜𝑠 2𝜋𝑡 = 2 𝑎1 𝑎1∗ 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2𝜋𝑡
𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑎1 𝑒 𝑗𝜋𝑡 + 𝑎−1 𝑒 −𝑗𝜋𝑡
1 2
𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑎1 𝑒 𝑗𝜋𝑡 − 𝑒 −𝑗𝜋𝑡 ‫ ׬‬2 𝑎1 𝑎1∗ 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2𝜋𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 1.
2 0
 2
1 2
‫ ׬‬2 𝑎1 𝑎1∗ 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2𝜋𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 1. 𝑎1 𝑎1∗ ‫׬‬0 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2𝜋𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 1.
2 0
0 0
sin(2𝜋𝑡) 2 sin(4𝜋 ) sin(0) 1
𝑎1 𝑎1∗ 𝑡− = 1. 𝑎1 𝑎1∗ 2− −0+ =1 𝑎1 𝑎1∗ =
2𝜋 0 2𝜋 2𝜋 2

2 2
1
As 𝑎1 is complex: 𝑅𝑒(𝑎1 ) + 𝐼𝑚(𝑎1 ) =
2
2 2
1 1
As 𝑎1 is purely imaginary: 0 + 𝐼𝑚(𝑎1 ) = 𝐼𝑚 𝑎1 = ±
2 2
1 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑎1 𝑒 𝑗𝜔0 𝑡 + 𝑎−1 𝑒 −𝑗𝜔0 𝑡
𝑎1 = ±𝑗
2
1
𝑎−1 = −𝑎1 = ∓𝑗 Therefore, the signals are
2
 Problem 3
Determine the complex Fourier series for the function defined by
Verify the result using Matlab.
Answer:
2𝜋 2𝜋
𝜔0 = = =1
𝑇 2𝜋
1 𝜋 1 𝜋 1 𝜋
𝑎0 = න 𝑓(𝑡) 𝑑𝑡 = න 2 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑡 0 =1
2𝜋 −𝜋 2𝜋 0 𝜋
𝑇 = 2𝜋

1 𝜋 −𝑗𝑘𝜔 𝑡
1 𝜋
−𝑗𝑘𝑡
1 𝜋
𝑎𝑘 = න 𝑓(𝑡) 𝑒 0 𝑑𝑡 = න 2𝑒 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝑡
2𝜋 −𝜋 2𝜋 0 −𝑗𝑘𝜋 0

𝑗 −𝑗𝑘𝜋 𝑗 𝑘 0 𝑘 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛
= 𝑒 −1 = −1 −1
𝑘𝜋 𝑘𝜋 𝑎𝑘 = ቐ −2𝑗
𝑘 𝑜𝑑𝑑
𝑘𝜋
 Problem 4
Determine the complex Fourier series 𝑎𝑘 for
the function 𝑥 𝑡
Answer:
2𝜋 2𝜋
The signal is 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑠𝑖 𝑛 𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑐 with 𝑇 = 𝜋 → 𝜔0 = = =2
𝑇 𝜋

1 𝜋 1 𝜋 1 𝜋
1 𝜋
2
𝑎0 = න 𝑥(𝑡) 𝑑𝑡 = න 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝑡) 𝑑𝑡 = −𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝑡) 0 = −𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜋 + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 0 0 =
𝜋 0 𝜋 0 𝜋 𝜋 𝜋

1 𝑇 1 𝜋
1 𝜋
𝑒 𝑗𝑡 − 𝑒 −𝑗𝑡 1 𝜋
𝑎𝑘 = න 𝑥(𝑡) 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜔0𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = න 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝑡) 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘2𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = න 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘2𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = න 𝑒 −𝑗(2𝑘−1)𝑡 − 𝑒 −𝑗(2𝑘+1)𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑇 0 𝜋 0 𝜋 0 2𝑗 𝑗2𝜋 0
𝜋
1 𝑒 −𝑗(2𝑘−1)𝑡 𝑒 −𝑗(2𝑘+1)𝑡 1 𝑒 −𝑗 2𝑘−1 𝜋 𝑒 −𝑗 2𝑘+1 𝜋 1 1
= − = − − +
𝑗2𝜋 −𝑗(2𝑘 − 1) −𝑗(2𝑘 + 1) 0
2𝜋 (2𝑘 − 1) 2𝑘 + 1 2𝑘 − 1 2𝑘 + 1

1 −1 −1 1 1 1 2 2
𝑒 −𝑗 2𝑘±1 𝜋
= −1 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑘 𝑎𝑘 = − − + = −
2𝜋 (2𝑘 − 1) 2𝑘 + 1 2𝑘 − 1 2𝑘 + 1 2𝜋 (2𝑘 + 1) 2𝑘 − 1

1 2𝑘 − 1 − (2𝑘 + 1) 1 −2 2
𝑎𝑘 = = 𝑎𝑘 =
𝜋 (2𝑘 + 1) 2𝑘 − 1 𝜋 4𝑘 2 − 1 1 − 4𝑘 2 𝜋
 Problem 5 න𝑥 𝑒
−𝑗𝑘
𝜋
𝑥
2 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑢
𝑥
𝑢
−𝑗𝑘
𝜋
𝑑𝑣
𝑥
න 𝑑𝑣
𝑒 2
Let 𝑓(𝑥) be the function of period T = 4 which is given +
𝜋
on the interval (−2, 2) by 𝑒
−𝑗𝑘
2
𝑥

𝜋 𝜋 1 𝜋
1. Plot 𝑓 𝑥 . 𝑒
−𝑗𝑘
𝑒
2
𝑥 −𝑗𝑘
2
𝑥 − −𝑗𝑘 2
𝑥 − 𝜋
2. Find the Fourier Series of 𝑓(𝑥) 𝜋
−𝑗𝑘 2 −𝑗𝑘
𝜋 2
0
𝑒
−𝑗𝑘
2
𝑥

2 𝜋 2
−𝑗𝑘 2
Answer:
1. Plot of f(x). 𝑓(𝑥)
2. The Fourier coefficients are calculated as follows. 2 2 2

1 𝐿 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 1
𝑎0 = න 𝑓(𝑥) 𝑑𝑥 = න 𝑓(𝑥) 𝑑𝑥 = න 2 − 𝑥 𝑑𝑥 = 2𝑥 − 𝑥 = 2 4
2𝐿 −𝐿 4 −2 4 0 4 2 0 2 −4 −2 0 𝑥
1 𝐿 2𝜋
−𝑗𝑘 2𝐿 𝑥 1 2 𝜋
−𝑗𝑘 2 𝑥 1 2 −𝑗𝑘 𝜋 𝑥 1 2 −𝑗𝑘 𝜋 𝑥
𝑎𝑘 = න 𝑓(𝑥) 𝑒 𝑑𝑥 = න 2 − 𝑥 𝑒 𝑑𝑥 = න 𝑒 2 𝑑𝑥 − න 𝑥 𝑒 2 𝑑𝑥
2𝐿 −𝐿 4 0 2 0 4 0
2 2𝑗𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜋 2𝑗
𝜋
−𝑗𝑘 𝐿 𝑥 𝑗 2𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜋 − +
1 𝜋
−𝑗𝑘 2 𝑥
2 1 𝜋
−𝑗𝑘 2 𝑥 𝑒 𝑗 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜋 − 1 𝑘𝜋 𝑘𝜋
= 𝑒 0 − 𝑥𝑒 − = −
𝜋 𝜋 𝜋 𝑘𝜋 2𝑘𝜋
2 −𝑗𝑘 2 4 −𝑗𝑘 2 −𝑗𝑘 2
0

1 − −1 𝑘
𝑗 −𝑗𝑘𝜋 𝑗 𝑗 −𝑗𝑘𝜋 1 1 𝑗
= 𝑒 − − 𝑒 − 2 2 𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜋 + 2 2 = − 1 1 − −1 𝑘 − 𝑗𝑘𝜋
𝑘𝜋 𝑘𝜋 𝑘𝜋 𝑘 𝜋 𝑘 𝜋 𝑘2𝜋2 𝑘𝜋 𝑎0 = 𝑎𝑘 =
2 𝑘2𝜋2
𝑒 −𝑗𝑘𝜋 = cos 𝑘𝜋 = −1 𝑘