Fourier Analysis

An Introduction

Elias M. Stein, Rami Shakarchi

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780691113845
• eBook ISBN: 9781400831234
• Topic: Mathematics
• Subtopic: Functional Analysis
• Index: Mathematics

This first volume, a three-part introduction to the subject, is intended for students with a beginning knowledge of mathematical analysis who are motivated to discover the ideas that shape Fourier analysis. It begins with the simple conviction that Fourier arrived at in the early nineteenth century when studying problems in the physical sciences--that an arbitrary function can be written as an infinite sum of the most basic trigonometric functions.


The first part implements this idea in terms of notions of convergence and summability of Fourier series, while highlighting applications such as the isoperimetric inequality and equidistribution. The second part deals with the Fourier transform and its applications to classical partial differential equations and the Radon transform; a clear introduction to the subject serves to avoid technical difficulties. The book closes with Fourier theory for finite abelian groups, which is applied to prime numbers in arithmetic progression.


In organizing their exposition, the authors have carefully balanced an emphasis on key conceptual insights against the need to provide the technical underpinnings of rigorous analysis. Students of mathematics, physics, engineering and other sciences will find the theory and applications covered in this volume to be of real interest.


The Princeton Lectures in Analysis represents a sustained effort to introduce the core areas of mathematical analysis while also illustrating the organic unity between them. Numerous examples and applications throughout its four planned volumes, of which Fourier Analysis is the first, highlight the far-reaching consequences of certain ideas in analysis to other fields of mathematics and a variety of sciences. Stein and Shakarchi move from an introduction addressing Fourier series and integrals to in-depth considerations of complex analysis; measure and integration theory, and Hilbert spaces; and, finally, further topics such as functional analysis, distributions and elements of probability theory.

1 The Genesis of Fourier Analysis

Regarding the researches of d’Alembert and Euler could one not add that if they knew this expansion, they made but a very imperfect use of it. They were both persuaded that an arbitrary and discontinuous function could never be resolved in series of this kind, and it does not even seem that anyone had developed a constant in cosines of multiple arcs, the first problem which I had to solve in the theory of heat.

J. Fourier, 1808-9

In the beginning, it was the problem of the vibrating string, and the later investigation of heat flow, that led to the development of Fourier analysis. The laws governing these distinct physical phenomena were expressed by two different partial differential equations, the wave and heat equations, and these were solved in terms of Fourier series.

Here we want to start by describing in some detail the development of these ideas. We will do this initially in the context of the problem of the vibrating string, and we will proceed in three steps. First, we describe several physical (empirical) concepts which motivate corresponding mathematical ideas of importance for our study. These are: the role of the functions cos t, sin t, and e^it suggested by simple harmonic motion; the use of separation of variables, derived from the phenomenon of standing waves; and the related concept of linearity, connected to the superposition of tones. Next, we derive the partial differential equation which governs the motion of the vibrating string. Finally, we will use what we learned about the physical nature of the problem (expressed mathematically) to solve the equation. In the last section, we use the same approach to study the problem of heat diffusion.

Given the introductory nature of this chapter and the subject matter covered, our presentation cannot be based on purely mathematical reasoning. Rather, it proceeds by plausibility arguments and aims to provide the motivation for the further rigorous analysis in the succeeding chapters. The impatient reader who wishes to begin immediately with the theorems of the subject may prefer to pass directly to the next chapter.

1 The vibrating string

The problem consists of the study of the motion of a string fixed at its end points and allowed to vibrate freely. We have in mind physical systems such as the strings of a musical instrument. As we mentioned above, we begin with a brief description of several observable physical phenomena on which our study is based. These are:

• simple harmonic motion,
• standing and traveling waves,
• harmonics and superposition of tones.

Understanding the empirical facts behind these phenomena will motivate our mathematical approach to vibrating strings.

Simple harmonic motion

Simple harmonic motion describes the behavior of the most basic oscillatory system (called the simple harmonic oscillator), and is therefore a natural place to start the study of vibrations. Consider a mass {m} attached to a horizontal spring, which itself is attach...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Preface
• Contents
• Chapter 1. The Genesis of Fourier Analysis
• Chapter 2. Basic Properties of Fourier Series
• Chapter 3. Convergence of Fourier Series
• Chapter 4. Some Applications of Fourier Series
• Chapter 5. The Fourier Transform on R
• Chapter 6. The Fourier Transform on Rd
• Chapter 7. Finite Fourier Analysis
• Chapter 8. Dirichlet’s Theorem
• Appendix: Integration
• Notes and References
• Bibliography
• Symbol Glossary
• Index