Lecture 12

March 1, 2021

1 Fourier Series
In this lecture, we are going to nd the coecients in the Fourier series.
Let us begin with the Fourier sine series in the interval (0, l)
∞
nπx
(1)
X
φ(x) = An sin .
n=1
l

We will try to nd the coecients An .

The key observation is the formula
Z l
nπx mπx
sin sin dx = 0 if m 6= n,
0 l l

m and n being positive integers.

Proof. There is a trigonometric identity
1 1
sin a sin b = cos(a − b) − cos(a + b).
2 2
The integral equals
l l
(n − m)πx
Z Z
nπx mπx 1 1 (n + m)πx
sin sin dx = cos( ) − cos( )dx
0 l l 0 2 l 2 l
l (n − m)πx l
= sin( )|0
2(n − m)π l
l (n + m)πx l
− sin( )|0
2(n + m)π l
m 6= n = 0.

1
 Suppose φ has the Fourier sine series in (0, l) (1). Let's multiply (1) by
l ) and integrate in the integral
sin( mπx
Z l ∞
Z lX
mπx nπx mπx
φ(x) sin dx = An sin sin dx
0 l 0 n=1 l l
Z l
mπx
= Am sin2 dx
0 l
Z l
1 1 2mπx
= Am − cos dx
0 2 2 l
l
= Am .
2
Therefore,
Z l
2 mπx
Am = φ(x) sin dx. (2)
l 0 l

That is if φ has the Fourier sine series in (0, l) (1), then the coecients must
be given by (2).
Example 1. Let φ(x) ≡ 1 in the interval (0, l). The Am is
2 l
Z
mπx 2l mπx l
Am = sin dx = − cos |
l 0 l lmπ l 0
2
= (1 − (−1)m ).
mπ
So the Fourier sine series is
4 πx 1 3πx 1 5πx
1 = (sin + sin + sin + · · · ).
π l 3 l 5 l
Exercise 2. Prove that the formula
Z l
nπx mπx
cos cos dx = 0 if m 6= n,
0 l l

m and n being nonnegative integers.

And
Z l
mπx l
cos2 dx = .
0 l 2

Suppose that φ has the Fourier cosine series in (0, l)

∞
1 X nπx
φ(x) = A0 + An cos ,
2 n=1
l

2
then the coecients An must be given by
Z l
2
A0 = φ(x)dx,
l 0

and
Z l
2 nπx
An = φ(x) cos dx.
l 0 l
Example 3. The function φ(x) ≡ 1 has a Fourier cosine series with coecients
Z l
2
A0 = dx = 2,
l 0

2 l
Z
mπx
Am = cos dx
l 0 l
2 mπx l
= sin |
mπ l 0
= 0

for m 6= 0. So we have
1 = 1 + 0 + 0 + ··· .

The full Fourier series, or simply the Fourier seris, of φ(x) on the interval
(−l, l) is dened as
∞
1 X nπx nπx
φ(x) = A0 + (An cos + Bn sin ).
2 n=1
l l

Exercise 4. Let m, n are positive integers. Prove the following formulas

Z l
nπx mπx
cos sin dx = 0 f orall n, m
−l l l
Z l
nπx mπx
cos cos dx = 0 f or n 6= m
−l l l
Z l
nπx mπx
sinsin dx = 0 f or n 6= m
−l l l
Z l Z l
nπx nπx
1 · cos dx = 0 = 1 · sin dx
−l l −l l
Z l Z l
nπx nπx
cos2 dx = l = sin2 dx
−l l −l l
Z l
12 dx = 2l.
−l

3
 So the coecients of the full Fourier series are
Z l
1 nπx
An = φ(x) cos dx (n = 0, 1, 2, · · · )
l −l l
Z l
1 nπx
Bn = φ(x) sin dx. (n = 1, 2, 3, · · · )
l −l l

Example 5. Let φ(x) ≡ x in the interval (0, l). Its Fourier sine series has the
coecients
Z l
2 mπx
Am = x sin
dx
l 0 l
2l
= (−1)m+1 .
mπ
Thus in (0, l) its Fourier sine series is
2l πx 1 2πx 1 3πx
x = (sin − sin + sin − · · · ).
π l 2 l 3 l
Its Fourier cosine series in (0, l) has the coecients
Z l
2
A0 = xdx = l,
l 0
Z l
2 mπx
Am = x cos dx
l 0 l
2l
= [(−1)m − 1].
m2 π 2
Thus in (0, l) its Fourier cosine series is
l 4l πx 1 3πx 1 5πx
x = − 2 (cos + cos + cos + · · · ).
2 π l 9 l 25 l
Its Fourier series in (−l, l) has the coecients
Z l
1
A0 = xdx = 0,
l −l
Z l
1 mπx
Am = x cos dx
l −l l
x mπx l mπx l
= sin + 2 2 cos |
mπ l m π l −l
= 0,
1 l
Z
mπx
Bm = x sin dx
l −l l
2l
= (−1)m+1 .
mπ

4
 So in (−l, l) its full Fourier series is
2l πx 1 2πx 1 3πx
x = (sin − sin + sin − · · · ).
π l 2 l 3 l
Example 6. Solve the problem
utt − c2 uxx = 0 0<x<l
u(0, t) = u(l, t) = 0
u(x, 0) = x, ut (x, 0) = 0.

From previous Lectures, we know that u(x, t) has an expansion

∞
X nπct nπct nπx
u(x, t) = (An cos + Bn sin ) sin .
n=1
l l l

Dierentiating with respect to time yields

∞
X nπc nπct nπct nπx
ut (x, t) = (−An sin + Bn cos ) sin .
n=1
l l l l

Setting t = 0, we have
∞
X nπx
u(x, 0) = An sin ,
n=1
l

and
∞
X nπc nπx
ut (x, 0) = Bn sin .
n=1
l l

Because the Fourier sine series of x and 0 in (0, l) are

2l πx 1 2πx 1 3πx
x = (sin − sin + sin − ···)
π l 2 l 3 l
and
0 = 0.

So Bn = 0 and An = (−1)n+1 nπ
2l
.
So the solution is
∞
X 2l nπct nπx
u(x, t) = (−1)n+1 cos sin .
n=1
nπ l l