Translations, Modulations, & Dilations of Fourier Transform

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves expressing the Fourier Transform of the function ae^{2\pi iabx}f(ax-c) in terms of the Fourier Transform of f, with a, b, and c as positive constants. The discussion includes the use of specific operators that act on functions, such as translations, modulations, and dilations, and their properties related to Fourier transforms.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore different reformulations of the original function using defined operators, leading to multiple expressions for the Fourier Transform. Some express skepticism about the consistency of their results, while others attempt to clarify algebraic manipulations and the correct application of operators.

Discussion Status

There is ongoing exploration of the problem with participants providing various attempts and corrections. Some guidance has been offered regarding algebraic errors, and clarifications about the expressions being discussed are occurring. Multiple interpretations of the problem and its components are being considered.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the complexity of the operators involved and the potential for algebraic mistakes, which may affect the outcomes of their attempts. There is also a mention of the need for careful notation to avoid confusion in mathematical expressions.

McCoy13
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Homework Statement


Express the Fourier Transform of the following function

[tex]ae^{2\pi iabx}f(ax-c)[/tex]

terms of the Fourier Transform of f . (Here a, b, c are positive constants.)

Homework Equations


Define the following operators acting on function f(x):

[tex]T_{a}(f)(x)=f(x+a)[/tex]
[tex]M_{b}(f)(x)=e^{-2\pi ibx}f(x)[/tex]
[tex]D_{c}(f)(x)=\sqrt{c}f(cx)[/tex]

We have the following properties of these operators and the Fourier transform:

[tex]\hat{T_{a}(f)(x)}=M_{a}\hat{(f)}(s)[/tex]
[tex]\hat{M_{b}(f)(x)}=T_{b}\hat{(f)}(s)[/tex]
[tex]\hat{D_{c}(f)(x)}=D_{1/c}\hat{(f)}(s)[/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution


My first attempt was to reformat the formula in terms of the operators given above:

[tex]ae^{2\pi iabx}f(ax-c)=\sqrt{a}M_{-ab}(D_{a}(T_{\frac{c}{a}}(f)(x)))[/tex]

Simply replacing the operators with the counter parts for the Fourier transform would give

[tex]\hat{\sqrt{a}M_{-ab}(D_{a}(T_{\frac{c}{a}}(f)(x)))}=\sqrt{a}T_{-ab}(D_{\frac{1}{a}}(M_{\frac{-c}{a}}(\hat{f})(s)))[/tex]

Carrying out these operators I have

[tex]\sqrt{a}T_{-ab}(D_{\frac{1}{a}}(M_{\frac{c}{a}}(\hat{f})(s)))=e^{2\pi i\frac{c}{a^{2}}(s-ab)}\hat{f}(\frac{s}{a}-ab)[/tex]I was skeptical that this was the right answer, since I thought maybe my description of the given expression in terms of operators was incorrect. Therefore I tried again with a different description:

[tex]ae^{2\pi iabx}f(ax-c)=\sqrt{a}D_{a}(M_{b}(T_{\frac{c}{a}}(f)(x)))[/tex]

[tex]\hat{\sqrt{a}D_{a}(M_{b}(T_{\frac{c}{a}}(f)(x)))}=\sqrt{a}D_{\frac{1}{a}}(T_{b}(M_{\frac{-c}{a}}(\hat{f})(s)))[/tex]

[tex]\sqrt{a}D_{\frac{1}{a}}(T_{b}(M_{\frac{c}{a}}(\hat{f})(s)))=e^{2\pi i\frac{c}{a^{2}}(s+b)}f(\frac{s+b}{a})[/tex]

These two answers aren't consistent with each other (although they are pretty close, differing only by a factor of 1/a). At this point I decided to try to solve the problem explicitly.

[tex]\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}ae^{2\pi iabx}f(ax-c)e^{-2\pi isx}dx[/tex]

let y=ax-c and dy=adx

[tex]a\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{2\pi ib(y+c)}f(y)e^{-2\pi is(\frac{y+c}{a})}dy[/tex][tex]\int^{\infty}_{-\infty}e^{2\pi ibc}f(y)e^{-2\pi is(\frac{y+c}{a}-by)}dy[/tex][tex]e^{2\pi ibc}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}f(y)e^{-2\pi is[\frac{1}{a}(y(1-ab)+c)]}dy[/tex]

[tex]M_{-bc}(D_{\frac{1}{a}}(D_{1-ab}(T_{\frac{c}{1-ab}}(\hat{f})(s))))[/tex]

This answer is also clearly inconsistent with the last two, which I'm guessing means I made some kind of gross error in the explicit calculation.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

(Note: Hats should denote Fourier transform, but the hats didn't expand to cover long expressions like I hoped they would. Therefore, anytime you see a hat over f(x) on the left hand side of the equation, it should be understood that I wanted to take the Fourier transform of the whole side, not just the function, since then the problem would be trivial.)
 
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McCoy13 said:
[tex]\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}ae^{2\pi iabx}f(ax-c)e^{-2\pi isx}dx[/tex]

let y=ax-c and dy=adx

[tex]a\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{2\pi ib(y+c)}f(y)e^{-2\pi is(\frac{y+c}{a})}dy[/tex]


[tex]\int^{\infty}_{-\infty}e^{2\pi ibc}f(y)e^{-2\pi is(\frac{y+c}{a}-by)}dy[/tex] (***)


[tex]e^{2\pi ibc}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}f(y)e^{-2\pi is[\frac{1}{a}(y(1-ab)+c)]}dy[/tex]

I can't really help with the operators, since it would take some time to really remember how they work, but there's an algebra error in the equation (***) above. It should be

[tex]\int^{\infty}_{-\infty}e^{2\pi ibc}f(y)e^{-2\pi i(\frac{y+c}{a}s-by)}dy[/tex]

Without using the operators, I think you find something like

[tex]e^{-2\pi i c (s/a-b)} \hat{f}(s/a -b).[/tex]
 
Just to clarify, is that [itex]\frac{s}{a-b}[/itex] or [itex]\frac{s}{a}-b[/itex]?

Thanks for your help by the way. I corrected the algebra mistake but have not had time to carry out evaluating the integral yet.
 
McCoy13 said:
Just to clarify, is that [itex]\frac{s}{a-b}[/itex] or [itex]\frac{s}{a}-b[/itex]?

Thanks for your help by the way. I corrected the algebra mistake but have not had time to carry out evaluating the integral yet.

It's [itex]\frac{s}{a}-b[/itex]. I thought it would be harder to read typeset that way, but I guess you have to be careful since so many posters forget to put parentheses around denominators.
 

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