SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS 1.0 INTRODUCTION As described in the Foreword, the intuitive notions of signals and systems arise in a rich v riety of contexts. Moreover, as we will see in this book, there is an analytical framework — that is, a language for describing signals and systems and an extremely powerful set of tools for analyzing them—that applies equally well to problems in many fields. In this chapter, ‘we begin our development of the analytical framework for signals and systems by intro- ducing their mathematical description and representations, In the chapters that follow, we build on this foundation in order to develop and describe additional concepts and methods that add considerably both to our understanding of signals and systems and to our ability to analyze and solve problems involving signals and systems that arise in a broad array of applications. 1.1 CONTINUOUS-TIME AND DISCRETE-TIME SIGNALS 1.1.1 Examples and Mathematical Representation Signals may describe a wide variety of physical phenomena. Although signals can be rep- resented in many ways, in all cases the information in a signal is contained in a pattern of Variations of some form. For example, consider the simple circuit in Figure 1.1. In this the patterns of variation over time in the source and capacitor voltages, andy. are exam- ples of signals. Similarly, as depicted in Figure 1.2, the variations over time of the applied force f and the resulting automobile velocity v are signals. As another example, consider the human vocal mechanism, which produces speech by creating fluctuations in acous tic pressure. Figure 1.3 isan illustration ofa recording of such 2 speech signal, obtained by 12 Signals and Systems Chap. 1 ww Figure 1.1 A simple AC circuit with source Figure 1.2 _ An automobile responding to an voltage v, and capacitor voltage vz applied force f from the engine and to a re- tarding fritional force pv proportional tothe automobile’ velocity v. Figure 1.3. Example of a record- Ing of speech, (Adapted from Ap- plications of Digital Signal Process- ing, AV. Oppenheim, ed. (Englewood Citis, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1978), 1. 121,] The signal represents acous tic pressure variations as a function Of time forthe spoken words “should we chase The topline ofthe figure Corresponds to the word “should,” the second line to the word “we, and the last two lines to the word “chase.” (We have incicated the ap- proximate beginnings and endings ‘of each successive sound in each word) using a microphone to sense variations in acoustic pressure, which are then converted into an electrical signal. As can be seen inthe figure, different sounds correspond to different patterns in the variations of acoustic pressure, and the human vocal system produces intel- ligible speech by generating particular sequences of these pattems. Alternatively, for the ‘monochromatic picture, shown in Figure 1.4, itis the pattern of variations in brightness across the image that is important.‘Sec. 1.1 Continuous-Time and Discrete-Time Signals 3 Figure 1.4 & monochromatic picture snted mathematically as functions of one or more independent 1 speech signal can be represented mathematically by acoustic as a func Signals are repres variables. For example, pressure as a function of time, and a picture can be represented by brightne tion of two spatial variables. In this book, we focus our attention on signals involving a single independent variable. For convenience, we will generally refer to the independent variable as time, although it may not in fact represent time in specific applications. For ‘example, in geophysics, signals representing variations with depth of physical quantities such as density, porosity, and electrical resistivity are used to study the structure of the earth, Also, knowledge of the variations of air pressure, temperature, and wind speed with altitude are extremely important in meteoralogical investigations. Figure 1.5 depicts atyp- ical example of annual average vertical wind profile asa function of height. The measured variations of wind speed with height are used in examining weather patterns, as well as wind conditions that may affect an aireraft during final approach and landing, Throughout this book we will be considering two basic types of signals: continuous time signals and discrete-time signals, In the case of continuous-time signals the inde- pendent variable is continuous, and thus these signals are defined for a continuum of values, 26 24 2 20 18 gs Eu ye 10 8 Figure 1.5 Typical annual vertical wind proie. (Adapted from Cravord 4 and Hudson, National Severe Storms © 200 400600800 7,000 1,200 1400 7,600 Laboratory Report, ESSA ERUTMNSSL Height et) 48, August 1970.) 6 4 24 Signals and Systems Chap. 1 400 350 300, 250 200 150 100 Jan. 5.1929 san, 41990 Figure 1.6 An example ofa discrete-time signal: The weekly Dow-Jones stock market index from January 5, 1929, to January 4, 1930, of the independent variable, On the other hand, discrete-time signals are defined only at discrete times, and consequently, for these signals, the independent variable takes on only a discrete set of values. A speech signal as a function of time and atmospheric pressure as a function of altitude are examples of continuous-time signals. The weekly Dow-Jones stock market index, as illustrated in Figure 1.6, is an example of a discrete-time signal Other examples of discrete-time signals can be found in demographic studies in which various attributes, such as average budget, crime rate, or pounds of fish caught, are tab- ulated against such discrete variables as family size, total population, oF type of fishing vessel, respectively. ‘To distinguish between continuous-time and discrete-time signals, we will use the symbol ro denote the continuous-time independent variable and n to denote the discrete- time independent variable. In addition, for continuous-time signals we will enclose the independent variable in parentheses (-), whereas for discrete-time signals we will use brackets [] to enclose the independent variable. We will also have frequent occasions when it will be useful to represent signals graphically. Illustrations of a continuous-time signal x(t) and a discrete-time signal x[} are shown in Figure 1.7. It is important to note that the discrete-time signal x[n] is defined only for integer values of the independent variable. Our choice of Braphical representation for x{n} emphasizes this fact, and for further emphasis we will on occasion refer to x{n] as a discrete-time sequence. A discrete-time signal x{n] may represent a phenomenon for which the independent variable is inherently discrete, Signals such as demographic data are examples ofthis, On the other hand, a very important class of discrete-time signals arses from the sampling of continuous-time signals. In this case, the discrete-time signal x{n] represents successive ‘samples of an underlying phenomenon for which the independent variable is continuous. Because of their speed, computational power, and flexibility, modem digital processors are used to implement many practical systems, ranging from digital autopilots to digital audio systems. Such systems require the use of discrete-time sequences representing sampled versions of continuous-time signals—e.g., aircraft position, velocity, and heading for anec. 1.1 Continyous-Time and Discrete-Time Signals s xt Tore sase77 se Co) Figure 1.7. Graphical representations of (a) continuous-time and (b) dscrete- tine signa autopilot or speech and music for an audio system. Also, pictures in newspapers—orin this book, for that matter—actually consist ofa very fine grid of points, and each ofthese points represents a sample of the brightness of the corresponding point inthe original image. No ‘matter what the source ofthe data, however, the signal x{n] is defined only for integer values of n. It makes no more sense to refer to the 34th sample of a digital speech signal than it does to refer to the average budget for a family with 2! family members. ‘Throughout most ofthis book we will treat discrete-time signals and continuous-time signals separately but in parallel, so that we can draw on insights developed in one setting to aid our understanding of another. In Chapter 7 we will return to the question of sampling, and in that context we will bring continuous-time and discrete-time concepts together in ‘order to examine the relationship between a continuous-time signal and a discrete-time signal obtained from it by sampling. 1.1.2 Signal Energy and Power From the range of examples provided so far, we see that signals may represent a broad variety of phenomena, In many, but not all, applications, the signals we consider are di- rectly related to physical quantities capturing power and energy in a physical system. For example, if v(¢) and i(1) are, respectively, the voltage and current across a resistor with resistance R, then the instantaneous power is ptr) = vinitt) ay)6 Signals and Systems Chap. 1 ‘The total energy expended over the time interval r) <6 < ti fe pidt = i prod, a2) and the average power over this time interval Le "Ls al, 08 I pride a3) Similarly, for the automobile depicted in Figure 1.2, the instantaneous power dissipated through friction is p(t) = bv2(0), and we can then define the total energy and average power over a time interval in the same way as in eqs. (1.2) and (1.3). With simple physical examples such as these as motivation, it is a common and ‘worthwhile convention to use similar terminology for power and energy for any continuous- time signal x(9) or any discrete-time signal x{n]. Moreover, as we will see shortly, we will frequently find it convenient to consider signals that take on complex values. In this case, the total energy over the time interval r, = ¢ = f in a continuous-time signal x(t) is defined as [ora aa where |x| denotes the magnitude of the (possibly complex) number x. The time-averaged power is obtained by dividing eq, (1.4) by the length, ‘> — 1, of the time interval. Simi- larly, the total energy in a discrete-time signal x[n] over the time interval my =n = mis defined as as) and dividing by the number of points in the interval, n) ~ ny + 1, yields the average power over the interval. Its important to remember thatthe terms “power” and “energy” are used here independently of whether the quantities in eqs. (1.4) and (1.5) actually are related to physical energy. Nevertheless, we will find it convenient to use these terms in a general fashion. Furthermore, in many systems we will be interested in examining power and energy in signals over an infinite time interval, ic. for ~2 <1 < +2 or for —= 0, then, of necessity, E. = %, This, of course, makes sense, since if there is a nonzero average energy per unit time (i.¢., nonzero power), then integrating ‘or summing this over an infinite time interval yields an infinite amount of energy. For example, the constant signal x[n] = 4 has infinite energy, but average power P.. = 16. ‘There are also signals for which neither P,. nor E. are finite. A simple example is the signal x(7) = 1. We will encounter other examples of signals in each of these classes in the remainder of this and the following chapters. 1.2 TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE A central concept in signal and system analysis is that of the transformation of a signal For example, in an aircraft control system, signals corresponding to the actions of the pilot are transformed by electrical and mechanical systems into changes in aircraft thrust or the positions of aircraft control surfaces such as the rudder or ailerons, which in turn are transformed through the dynamies and kinematics ofthe vehicle into changes in aircraft velocity and heading. Also, in a high-fidelity audio system, an input signal representing music as recorded on a cassette or compact disc is modified in order to enhance desirable characteristics, to remove recording noise, o to balance the several components of the signal (¢.g., treble and bass), In this section, we focus on a very limited but important class ‘of elementary signal transformations that involve simple modification of the independent Variable, i, the time axis. AS we will se in this and subsequent sections ofthis chapter, these elementary transformations allow us to introduce several basic properties of signals and systems, In later chapters, we will find that they also play an important role in defining and characterizing far richer and important classes of systems,