Fourier Transform e^(-t)

19 views (last 30 days)
himesh
himesh on 9 Apr 2015
Hi. Why in MATLAB, why do we have to add a Heaviside function when doing Fourier transforms? For example when doing a Fourier transform of something simple, e.g. e^(-t), I get an error.
.
%%Error code
syms x w X
f = exp(-x)
X=fourier(f, x, w)
ezplot(X)
.
To fix this I need to write f = exp(-x)*heaviside(x);
Why is this?

Answers (3)

Torsten
Torsten on 10 Apr 2015
Because your f is not integrable over IR, but only over IR+.
Or what is integral_{t=-oo}^{t=0} exp(-t) dt ?
Best wishes
Torsten.
  3 Comments
Torsten
Torsten on 10 Apr 2015
I mean that
integral_{t=-oo}^{t=00} exp(-t) dt
does not exist, but only
integral_{t=0}^{t=oo} exp(-t) dt.
For the Fourier transform to exist, it would be necessary that
integral_{t=-oo}^{t=00} exp(-t) dt < oo
which is not the case.
Best wishes
Torsten.
himesh
himesh on 11 Apr 2015
Thanks. I also have one last question and that is when plotting these, I have to write
ezplot(abs(X))
Why are there errors when I get rid of the abs() in the ezplot statement?
Many thanks

Sign in to comment.


sarath sai krishna babu gunupudi
Display the expression after computing Fourier Transform of u(t).
Save u(t) function in variable x and Fourier transform in variable xf.

hategekimana shadrack
hategekimana shadrack on 14 Dec 2021
Use matlab to calculate the Fourier series of the following periodic signals.
a. Draw the Amplitude spectrum of signal.

Community Treasure Hunt

Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!

Start Hunting!