4.II.30A

Partial Differential Equations
Part II, 2006

(a) State the Fourier inversion theorem for Schwartz functions S(R)\mathcal{S}(\mathbb{R}) on the real line. Define the Fourier transform of a tempered distribution and compute the Fourier transform of the distribution defined by the function F(x)=12F(x)=\frac{1}{2} for tx+t-t \leqslant x \leqslant+t and F(x)=0F(x)=0 otherwise. (Here tt is any positive number.)

Use the Fourier transform in the xx variable to deduce a formula for the solution to the one dimensional wave equation

uttuxx=0, with initial data u(0,x)=0,ut(0,x)=g(x),u_{t t}-u_{x x}=0, \quad \text { with initial data } \quad u(0, x)=0, \quad u_{t}(0, x)=g(x),

for gg a Schwartz function. Explain what is meant by "finite propagation speed" and briefly explain why the formula you have derived is in fact valid for arbitrary smooth gC(R)g \in C^{\infty}(\mathbb{R}).

(b) State a theorem on the representation of a smooth 2π2 \pi-periodic function gg as a Fourier series

g(x)=αZg^(α)eiαxg(x)=\sum_{\alpha \in \mathbb{Z}} \hat{g}(\alpha) e^{i \alpha x}

and derive a representation for solutions to ()(*) as Fourier series in xx.

(c) Verify that the formulae obtained in (a) and (b) agree for the case of smooth 2π2 \pi periodic gg.