Fourier series
decomposition of periodic functions into sums of simpler sinusoidal forms
A Fourier series () is a series expansion of a periodic function into a sum of trigonometric functions. The Fourier series is an example of a trigonometric series. By expressing a function as a sum of sines and cosines, many problems involving the function become easier to analyze because trigonometric functions are well understood. For example, Fourier series were first used by Joseph Fourier to find solutions to the heat equation. This application is possible because the derivatives of trigonometric functions fall into simple patterns. Fourier series cannot be used to approximate arbitrary functions, because most functions have infinitely many terms in their Fourier series, and the series do not always converge. Well-behaved functions, for example smooth functions, have Fourier series that converge to the original function. The coefficients of the Fourier series are determined by integrals of the function multiplied by trigonometric functions, described in Fourier series § Definition.
The study of the convergence of Fourier series focus on the behaviors of the partial sums, which means studying the behavior of the sum as more and more terms from the series are summed. The figures below illustrate some partial Fourier series results for the components of a square wave.
The public source identifies “Fourier series” as decomposition of periodic functions into sums of simpler sinusoidal forms. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Fourier, series and decomposition.
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This entry incorporates text from “Fourier series” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.