The Complex Form: 1. by Utilising The Euler Formula: e

The Complex Form
23.6
Introduction
In this Section we show how a Fourier series can be expressed more concisely if we introduce
the complex number i =
1. By utilising the Euler formula:

e
i
= cos + i sin
we can replace the trigonometric functions by complex exponential functions. By also combining
the Fourier coecients a
n
and b
n
into a complex coecient c
n
through
c
n
=
1
2
(a
n
ib
n
)
we nd that, for a given periodic signal, both sets of constants can be found in one operation.
We also obtain Parsevals Theorem which has important applications in electrical engineering.
The complex formulation of a Fourier series is an important pre-cursor of the Fourier transform
which attempts to Fourier analyse non-periodic functions.
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Prerequisites
Before starting this Section you should . . .
know how to obtain a Fourier series
be familiar with the complex numbers
be familiar with the relation between the
exponential function and the trigonometric
functions
Learning Outcomes
After completing this Section you should be
able to . . .
express a periodic function in terms of its
Fourier series in complex form
understand Parsevals theorem
1. Complex Exponential Form of a Fourier Series
So far we have discussed the trigonometric form of a Fourier Series i.e. we have represented
functions of period T in the terms of sinusoids, and possibly a constant term, using
f(t) =
a
0
2
+
n=1
_
a
n
cos
_
2nt
T
_
+ b
n
sin
_
2nt
T
__
.
If we use the angular frequency
0
=
2
T
We obtain the more concise form
f(t) =
a
0
2
+
n=1
(a
n
cos n
0
t + b
n
sin n
0
t).
We have seen that the Fourier coecients are calculated using the following integrals:
a
n
=
2
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t) cos n
0
t dt n = 0, 1, 2, . . . (1)
b
n
=
2
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t) sin n
0
t dt n = 1, 2, . . . (2)
An alternative, more concise form, of a Fourier Series is available using complex quantities. This
form is quite widely used by Engineers, for example in Circuit Theory and Control Theory, and,
in this course, will lead naturally into a later Section on the Fourier Transform.
2. Revision of the exponential form of a complex number
Recall that a complex number in Cartesian form
z = a + ib,
where a and b are real numbers and i
2
= 1, can be written in polar form
z = r(cos + i sin )
where r = |z| =
a
2
+ b
2
and , the argument or phase of z, is such that
a = r cos b = r sin .
A more concise version of the polar form of z can be obtained by dening a complex expo-
nential quantity e
i
by
e
i
= cos + i sin
(This is sometimes known as Eulers relation.) The polar angle is normally expressed in
radians.
Replacing i by i we obtain
e
i
= cos i sin
HELM (VERSION 1: March 19, 2004): Workbook Level 2
23.6: The Complex Form
2
Write down in cosine, sine form (i) e
i/6
(ii) e
i/6
. Then write each in
Cartesian form.
Your solution
W e h a v e , b y d e n i t i o n ,
e
i / 6
= c o s
_
6
_
+ i s i n
_
6
_
=
3
2
+ i
1
2
e
i / 6
= c o s
_
6
_
i s i n
_
6
_
=
3
2
i
1
2
Write down (i) cos
_
6
_
(ii) sin
_
6
_
in terms of e
i/6
and e
i/6
.
Your solution
W e h a v e , a d d i n g t h e t w o r e s u l t s f r o m t h e p r e v i o u s g u i d e d e x e r c i s e
e
i / 6
+ e
i / 6
= 2 c o s
_
6
_
o r c o s
_
6
_
=
1
2
_
e
i / 6
+ e
i / 6
_
S i m i l a r l y , s u b t r a c t i n g t h e t w o r e s u l t s ,
e
i / 6
e
i / 6
= 2 i s i n
_
6
_
o r s i n
_
6
_
=
1
2 i
_
e
i / 6
e
i / 6
_
( D o n t f o r g e t t h e f a c t o r i i n t h i s l a t t e r c a s e )
Clearly similar calculations could be carried out for any angle and the results are summarised
in the following Key Point.
3 HELM (VERSION 1: March 19, 2004): Workbook Level 2
Key Point
cos =
1
2
_
e
i
+ e
i
_
sin =
1
2i
_
e
i
e
i
_
Using these results we can redraft an expression of the form
a
n
cos n + b
n
sin n
in terms of complex exponentials.
(This expression, with =
0
t, is of course the nth harmonic of a trigonometric Fourier Series.)
Using the results from the last Key Point (with n instead of ) rewrite
a
n
cos n + b
n
sin n
in complex exponential form.
First do direct substitution
Your solution
W e h a v e
a
n
c o s n =
a
n
2
_
e
i n
+ e
i n
_
b
n
s i n n =
b
n
2 i
_
e
i n
e
i n
_
s o
a
n
c o s n + b
n
s i n n =
a
n
2
_
e
i n
+ e
i n
_
+
b
n
2 i
_
e
i n
e
i n
_
Now collect the terms in e
in
and in e
in
4
Your solution
W e g e t
1
2
_
a
n
+
b
n
i
_
e
i n
+
1
2
_
a
n
b
n
i
_
e
i n
o r , s i n c e
1
i
=
i
i
2
= i
1
2
( a
n
i b
n
) e
i n
+
1
2
( a
n
+ i b
n
) e
i n
.
We can now write this expression in more concise form by dening
c
n
=
1
2
(a
n
ib
n
)
which has complex conjugate
c
n
=
1
2
(a
n
+ ib
n
).
Hence, we have nally,
Your solution
a
n
c o s n + b
n
s i n n = c
n
e
i n
+ c
n
e
i n
Clearly, we can now rewrite the trigonometric Fourier Series
a
0
2
+
n=1
(a
n
cos n
0
t + b
n
sin n
0
t)
as
a
0
2
+
n=1
_
c
n
e
in
0
t
+ c
n
e
in
0
t
_
(3)
A neater, and particularly concise, form of this expression can be obtained as follows:
Firstly write
a
0
2
= c
0
(which is consistent with the general denition of c
n
since b
0
= 0)
The second term in the summation
n=1
c
n
e
in
0
t
= c
1
e
i
0
t
+ c
2
e
2i
0
t
+ . . .
can be written, if we dene c
n
= c
n
=
1
2
(a
n
+ ib
n
), as
c
1
e
i
0
t
+ c
2
e
2i
0
t
+ c
3
e
3i
0
t
+ . . . =
n=1
c
n
e
in
0
t
Hence (3) can be written
c
0
+
n=1
c
n
e
in
0
t
+
n=1
c
n
e
in
0
t
or, nally, in the extremely concise form
n=
c
n
e
in
0
t
.
The complex Fourier coecients c
n
can be readily obtained as follows using (1) and (2) for
a
n
, b
n
.
Firstly
c
0
=
a
0
2
=
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)dt (4)
For n = 1, 2, 3, . . . we have
c
n
=
1
2
(a
n
ib
n
) =
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)(cos n
0
t i sin n
0
t)dt
i.e. c
n
=
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt (5)
Also for n = 1, 2, 3, . . . we have
c
n
= c
n
=
1
2
(a
n
+ ib
n
) =
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt
This last expression is equivalent to stating that for n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
c
n
=
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt (6)
The 3 equations (4), (5), (6) can thus all be contained in the one expression
c
n
=
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt for n = 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .
The results of this discussion are summarised in the following Key Point.
Key Point
Fourier Series in Complex Form
A function f(t) of period T has a complex Fourier series
f(t) =
n=
c
n
e
in
0
t
where c
n
=
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt
6
For the special case T = 2 so that
0
= 1 these formulae become particularly simple
f(t) =
n=
c
n
e
int
c
n
=
1
2
_

f(t)e
int
dt.
Note the extremely concise form of these results.
3. Properties of the complex Fourier coefcients
Using properties of the trigonometric Fourier coecients a
n
, b
n
we can readily deduce the
following results for the c
n
s:
1. c
0
=
a
0
2
is always real
2. Suppose the periodic function f(t) is even so that all b
n
are zero. Then since, in the
complex form, the b
n
arise as the imaginary part of c
n
, it follows that for f(t) even the
coecients c
n
(n = 1, 2, . . .) are wholly real.
If f(t) is odd, what can you deduce about the Fourier coecients c
n
?
Your solution
S i n c e , f o r a n o d d p e r i o d i c f u n c t i o n t h e F o u r i e r c o e c i e n t s a
n
( w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e t h e r e a l p a r t
o f c
n
) a r e z e r o , t h e n i n t h i s c a s e t h e c o m p l e x c o e c i e n t s c
n
a r e w h o l l y i m a g i n a r y .
Further important points about complex Fourier coefcients
1. Since
c
n
=
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt
then if f(t) is even, so c
n
will be real, we have two possible methods for evaluating c
n
:
(a) evaluate the integral above as it stands i.e. over the full range
_
T
2
,
T
2
_
: note
carefully that the second term in the integrand is neither an even nor an odd function
so the integrand itself is
(even function) (neither even nor odd function) = neither even nor odd function.
Thus we cannot write
c
n
=
2
T
_
T/2
0
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt
(b) Put e
in
0
t
= cos n
0
t i sin n
0
t so
f(t)e
in
0
t
= f(t) cos n
0
t if(t) sin n
0
t
= (even)(even) i(even)(odd)
= (even) i(odd).
Hence
c
n
=
2
T
_ T
2
0
f(t) cos n
0
t dt =
a
n
2
.
2. If f(t +
T
2
) = f(t) then of course only odd harmonic coecients c
n
(n = 1, 3, 5, . . .)
will arise in the complex Fourier Series just as with trigonometric series.
Example Find the complex Fourier Series of the sawtooth wave shown:
T T 2T
A
f(t)
t
Solution
We have
f(t) =
At
T
0 < t < T
f(t + T) = f(t)
The period is T in this case so
0
=
2
T
.
Looking at the graph of f(t) we can say immediately
i. the Fourier Series will contain a constant term c
0
ii. if we imagine shifting the horizontal axis up to
A
2
the signal can be written
f(t) =
A
2
+ g(t),
where g(t) is an odd function with complex Fourier coecients that are purely imaginary.
8
Solution (contd.)
Hence we expect the required complex Fourier series of f(t) to contain a constant term
A
2
and complex exponential terms with purely imaginary coecients. We have, from the general
theory, and using 0 < t < T as the basic period for integrating.
c
n
=
1
T
_
T
0
At
T
e
in
0
t
dt =
A
T
2
_
T
0
te
in
0
t
dt
We can evaluate the integral using parts:
_
T
0
te
in
0
t
dt =
_
te
in
0
t
(in
0
)
_
T
0
+
1
in
0
_
T
0
e
in
0
t
dt
=
Te
in
0
T
(in
0
)

1
(in
0
)
2
_
e
in
0
t
T
0
But
0
=
2
T
so
e
in
0
T
= e
in2
= cos 2n i sin 2n
= 1 i0 = 1
Hence the integral becomes
T
in
0
1
(in
0
)
2
_
e
in
0
T
1
_
Hence
c
n
=
A
T
2
_
T
in
0
_
=
iA
2n
n = 1, 2, . . .
Note that
c
n
=
iA
2(n)
=
iA
2n
= c
n
as it must
Also c
0
=
1
T
_
T
0
At
T
dt =
A
2
as expected.
Hence the required complex Fourier Series is
f(t) =
A
2
+
iA
2
n=
n=0
e
in
0
t
n
which could be written, showing only the constant and the rst two harmonics as
f(t) =
A
2
_
. . . i
e
i2
0
t
2
ie
i
0
t
+ + ie
i
0
t
+ i
e
i2
0
t
2
+ . . .
_
.
The corresponding trigonometric Fourier Series for the function can be readily obtained from
this complex series by combining the terms in n, n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
For example this rst harmonic is
A
2
_
ie
i
0
t
+ ie
i
0
t
_
=
A
2
{i(cos
0
t i sin
0
t) + i(cos
0
t + i sin
0
t)}
=
A
2
(2 sin
0
t) =
A
sin
0
t
Performing similar calculations on the other harmonics we obtain the trigonometric form of the
Fourier series
f(t) =
A
2

A
n=1
sin n
0
t
n
.
Find the complex Fourier Series of the 2periodic function
f(t) = e
t
< t <
f(t + 2) = f(t)
f(t)
t
3
Firstly write down an integral expression for the Fourier coecients c
n
:
Your solution
W e h a v e , s i n c e T = 2 s o
0
= 1
c
n
=
1
2
_

e
t
e
i n t
d t
Now combine the real exponential and the complex exponential as one term and carry out the
integration
Your solution
10
W e h a v e
c
n
=
1
2
_

e
( 1 i n ) t
d t =
1
2
_
e
( 1 i n ) t
( 1 i n )
_

=
1
2
1
( 1 i n )
_
e
( 1 i n )
e
( 1 i n )
_
Now simplify this as far as possible and write out the Fourier Series:
Your solution
e
( 1 i n )
= e
e
i n
= e
( c o s n i s i n n ) = e
c o s n
e
( 1 i n )
= e

e
i n
= e

c o s n
H e n c e
c
n
=
1
2
1
( 1 i n )
( e
e

) c o s n =
s i n h
( 1 + i n )
( 1 + n
2
)
c o s n
N o t e t h a t t h e c o e c i e n t s c
n
n = 1 , 2 , . . . h a v e b o t h r e a l a n d i m a g i n a r y p a r t s i n t h i s c a s e a s
t h e f u n c t i o n b e i n g e x p a n d e d i s n e i t h e r e v e n n o r o d d .
A l s o
c
n
=
s i n h
( 1 i n )
( 1 + ( n )
2
)
c o s ( n ) =
s i n h
( 1 i n )
( 1 + n
2
)
c o s n = c
n
a s r e q u i r e d .
T h i s i n c l u d e s t h e c o n s t a n t t e r m c
0
=
s i n h
. H e n c e t h e r e q u i r e d F o u r i e r S e r i e s i s
f ( t ) =
s i n h
n =
( 1 )
n
( 1 + i n )
( 1 + n
2
)
e
i n t
s i n c e c o s n = ( 1 )
n
.
4. Parsevals Theorem
This is essentially a mathematical theorem but has, as we shall see, an important engineering
interpretation particularly in electrical engineering.
Parsevals Theorem states that if f(t) is a periodic function with period T and if c
n
(n =
0, 1, 2, . . .) denote the complex Fourier coecients of f(t) then
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f
2
(t)dt =
n=
|c
n
|
2
.
In words the theorem states that the mean square value of the signal f(t) over one period equals
the sum of the squared magnitudes of all the complex Fourier coecients.
Proof of Parsevals Theorem.
Assume f(t) has a complex Fourier Series of the usual form:
f(t) =
n=
c
n
e
in
0
t
_
0
=
2
T
_
where
c
n
=
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt
Then
f
2
(t) = f(t)f(t) = f(t)
c
n
e
in
0
t
=
c
n
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt
Hence
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f
2
(t)dt =
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
c
n
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt
=
1
T
c
n
_ T
2
T
2
f(t)e
in
0
t
dt
=
c
n
c
n
=
n=
|c
n
|
2
which completes the proof.
Parsevals Theorem can also be written in terms of the Fourier coecients a
n
, b
n
of the trigono-
metric Fourier Series.
Recall that
c
0
=
a
0
2
c
n
=
a
n
ib
n
2
n = 1, 2, 3, . . . c
n
=
a
n
+ ib
n
2
n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
so
|c
n
|
2
=
a
2
n
+ b
2
n
4
n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
12
so
n=
|c
n
|
2
=
a
2
0
4
+ 2
n=1
a
2
n
+ b
2
n
4
and hence Parsevals Theorem becomes
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f
2
(t)dt =
a
2
0
4
+
1
2
n=1
(a
2
n
+ b
2
n
) . . . ()
The engineering interpretation of this theorem is as follows:
suppose f(t) denotes an electrical signal (current or voltage): then from elementary circuit
theory f
2
(t) is the instantaneous power (in a 1 ohm resistor) so that
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f
2
(t)dt
is the energy dissipated in the resistor during one period.
Now a sinusoid wave of the form
Acos t (or Asin t)
has a mean square value
A
2
2
so a purely sinusoidal signal would dissipate a power
A
2
2
in a 1 ohm
resistor.
Hence Parsevals Theorem in the form () states that the average power dissipated over 1 period
equals the sum of the powers of the constant (or d.c.) components and of all the sinusoidal (or
alternating) components.
The triangular signal shown
f(t)
t
has trigonometric Fourier Series (see Section 29.3, p10)

f(t) =

2

4
n=1
(odd n)
cos nt
n
2
.
Use Parsevals Theorem to show that
n=1
(n odd)
1
n
4
=

4
96
.
Firstly, identify a
0
, a
n
and b
n
for this situation and write down the denition of f(t) for this
case.
Your solution
W e h a v e
a
0
2
=
2
a
n
=
_
_
_
4
n
2
n = 1 , 3 , 5 , . . .
0 n = 2 , 4 , 6 , . . .
b
n
= 0 n = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , . . .
A l s o
f ( t ) = | t | < t <
f ( t + 2 ) = f ( t )
Now evaluate the integral on the left hand side of Parsevals Theorem and hence complete the
problem.
Your solution
14
W e h a v e f
2
( t ) = t
2
s o
1
T
_ T
2
T
2
f
2
( t ) d t =
1
2
_

t
2
d t =
1
2
_
t
3
3
_
2
3
T h e r i g h t h a n d s i d e o f P a r s e v a l s T h e o r e m i s
a
2
0
4
+
n = 1
a
2
n
=
2
4
+
1
2
n = 1
( n o d d )
1 6
n
4
2
H e n c e
2
3
=
2
4
+
8
n = 1
( n o d d )
1
n
4
n = 1
( n o d d )
1
n
4
=
2
1 2
n = 1
( n o d d )
1
n
4
=
4
9 6
.
Exercises
Obtain the complex Fourier series for each of the following functions of period 2
1. f(t) = t t
2. f(t) = t 0 t 2
3. f(t) = e
t
t
1 . i
( 1 )
n
n
e
i n t
( s u m f r o m t o e x c l u d i n g n = 0 ) .
2 . + i
1
n
e
i n t
( s u m f r o m t o e x c l u d i n g n = 0 ) .
3 .
s i n h
( 1 )
n
( 1 + i n )
( 1 + n
2
)
e
i n t
( s u m f r o m t o ) .

The Complex Form: 1. by Utilising The Euler Formula: e

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Copyright:

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The Complex Form: 1. by Utilising The Euler Formula: e

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The Complex Form

1. By utilising the Euler formula:

has trigonometric Fourier Series (see Section 29.3, p10)

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