Periodic function

Not to be confused with periodic mapping.

"Period length" redirects here. Not to be confused with repeating decimal.

"Aperiodic" and "Non-periodic" redirect here. For other uses, see Aperiodic (disambiguation).

File:Periodic function illustration.svg

An illustration of a periodic function with period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P.}

A periodic function is a function that repeats its values at regular intervals. For example, the trigonometric functions, which are used to describe waves and other repeating phenomena, are periodic. Many aspects of the natural world have periodic behavior, such as the phases of the Moon, the swinging of a pendulum, and the beating of a heart.

The length of the interval over which a periodic function repeats is called its period. Any function that is not periodic is called aperiodic.

Definition

File:Sine.svg

A graph of the sine function. It is periodic with a fundamental period of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\pi} .

A function is defined as periodic if its values repeat at regular intervals. For example, the positions of the hands on a clock display periodic behavior as they cycle through the same positions every 12 hours. This repeating interval is known as the period.

More formally, a function Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} is periodic if there exists a constant Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} such that

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x+P) = f(x)}

for all values of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x} in the domain. A nonzero constant Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} for which this condition holds is called a period of the function.

If a period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} exists, any integer multiple Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle nP} (for a positive integer Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n} ) is also a period. If there is a least positive period, it is called the fundamental period (also primitive period or basic period). Often, "the" period of a function is used to refer to its fundamental period.

Geometrically, a periodic function's graph exhibits translational symmetry. Its graph is invariant under translation in the Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x} -direction by a distance of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} . This implies that the entire graph can be formed from copies of one particular portion, repeated at regular intervals.

Examples

Periodic behavior can be illustrated through both common, everyday examples and more formal mathematical functions.

Real-valued functions

Functions that map real numbers to real numbers can display periodicity, which is often visualized on a graph.

Sawtooth wave

An example is the function Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} that represents the "fractional part" of its argument. Its period is 1. For instance,

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(0.5) = f(1.5) = f(2.5) = \cdots = 0.5}

The graph of the function Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} is a sawtooth wave.

Trigonometric functions

File:Sine cosine plot.svg

A plot of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x) = \sin(x)} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle g(x) = \cos(x)} ; both functions are periodic with period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\pi} .

The trigonometric functions are common examples of periodic functions. The sine function and cosine function are periodic with a fundamental period of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\pi} , as illustrated in the figure to the right. For the sine function, this is expressed as:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sin(x + 2\pi) = \sin x}

for all values of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x} .

The field of Fourier series investigates the concept that an arbitrary periodic function can be expressed as a sum of trigonometric functions with matching periods.

Exotic functions

Some functions are periodic but possess properties that make them less intuitive. The Dirichlet function, for example, is periodic, with any nonzero rational number serving as a period. However, it does not possess a fundamental period.

Complex-valued functions

Functions with a domain in the complex numbers can exhibit more complex periodic properties.

Complex exponential

The complex exponential function is a periodic function with a purely imaginary period:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle e^{ikx} = \cos kx + i\,\sin kx}

Given that the cosine and sine functions are both periodic with period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\pi} , Euler's formula demonstrates that the complex exponential function has a period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle L} such that

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle L = \frac{2\pi}{k}} .

Double-periodic functions

A function on the complex plane can have two distinct, incommensurate periods without being a constant function. The elliptic functions are a primary example of such functions. ("Incommensurate" in this context refers to periods that are not real multiples of each other.)

Properties

Periodic functions can take on values many times. More specifically, if a function Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} is periodic with period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} , then for all Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x} in the domain of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} and all positive integers Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle n} ,

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x + nP) = f(x)}

A significant property related to integration is that if Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x)} is an integrable periodic function with period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} , then its definite integral over any interval of length Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} is the same. That is, for any real number Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a} :

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \int_a^{a+P} f(x) \, dx = \int_0^P f(x) \, dx}

This property is crucial in areas such as Fourier series, where the coefficients are determined by integrals over one period.

If Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x)} is a function with period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} , then Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(ax)} , where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a} is a non-zero real number such that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle ax} is within the domain of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} , is periodic with period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \frac{P}{|a|}} . For example, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x) = \sin(x)} has period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\pi} and, therefore, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sin(5x)} will have period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \frac{2\pi}{5}} .

A key property of many periodic functions is that they can be described by a Fourier series. This series represents a periodic function as a sum of simpler periodic functions, namely sines and cosines. For example, a sound wave from a musical instrument can be broken down into the fundamental note and various overtones. This decomposition is a powerful tool in fields like physics and signal processing. While most "well-behaved" periodic functions can be represented this way, Fourier series can only be used for periodic functions or for functions defined on a finite length. If Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} is a periodic function with period Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} that can be described by a Fourier series, the coefficients of the series can be described by an integral over an interval of length Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} .

Any function that is a combination of periodic functions with the same period is also periodic (though its fundamental period may be smaller). This includes:

• addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of periodic functions, and
• taking a power or a root of a periodic function (provided it is defined for all Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x} )

Generalizations

The concept of periodicity can be generalized beyond functions on the real number line. For example, the idea of a repeating pattern can be applied to shapes in multiple dimensions, such as a periodic tessellation of the plane. A sequence can also be viewed as a function defined on the natural numbers, and the concept of a periodic sequence is defined accordingly.

Antiperiodic functions

One subset of periodic functions is that of antiperiodic functions. This is a function Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f} such that Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x+P) = -f(x)} for all Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle x} . For example, the sine and cosine functions are Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi} -antiperiodic and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2\pi} -periodic. While a Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P} -antiperiodic function is a Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 2P} -periodic function, the converse is not necessarily true.

Bloch-periodic functions

A further generalization appears in the context of Bloch's theorems and Floquet theory, which govern the solution of various periodic differential equations. In this context, the solution (in one dimension) is typically a function of the form

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f(x+P) = e^{ikP} f(x) ~,}

where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k} is a real or complex number (the Bloch wavevector or Floquet exponent). Functions of this form are sometimes called Bloch-periodic in this context. A periodic function is the special case Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k=0} , and an antiperiodic function is the special case Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k=\pi/P} . Whenever Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k P/ \pi} is rational, the function is also periodic.

Quotient spaces as domain

In signal processing you encounter the problem, that Fourier series represent periodic functions and that Fourier series satisfy convolution theorems (i.e. convolution of Fourier series corresponds to multiplication of represented periodic function and vice versa), but periodic functions cannot be convolved with the usual definition, since the involved integrals diverge. A possible way out is to define a periodic function on a bounded but periodic domain. To this end you can use the notion of a quotient space:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}} = \{x+\mathbb{Z} : x\in\mathbb{R}\} = \{\{y : y\in\mathbb{R}\land y-x\in\mathbb{Z}\} : x\in\mathbb{R}\}} .

That is, each element in Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle {\mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}}} is an equivalence class of real numbers that share the same fractional part. Thus a function like Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle f : {\mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}}\to\mathbb{R}} is a representation of a 1-periodic function.

Calculating period

Consider a real waveform consisting of superimposed frequencies, expressed in a set as ratios to a fundamental frequency, f: F = 1⁄fTemplate:Nnbsp[f₁ f₂ f₃ ... f_N] where all non-zero elements ≥1 and at least one of the elements of the set is 1. To find the period, T, first find the least common denominator of all the elements in the set. Period can be found as T = LCD⁄f. Consider that for a simple sinusoid, T = 1⁄f. Therefore, the LCD can be seen as a periodicity multiplier.

• For set representing all notes of Western major scale: [1 9⁄8 5⁄4 4⁄3 3⁄2 5⁄3 15⁄8] the LCD is 24 therefore T = 24⁄f.
• For set representing all notes of a major triad: [1 5⁄4 3⁄2] the LCD is 4 therefore T = 4⁄f.
• For set representing all notes of a minor triad: [1 6⁄5 3⁄2] the LCD is 10 therefore T = 10⁄f.

If no least common denominator exists, for instance if one of the above elements were irrational, then the wave would not be periodic.

References

• Ekeland, Ivar (1990). "One". Convexity methods in Hamiltonian mechanics. Ergebnisse der Mathematik und ihrer Grenzgebiete (3) [Results in Mathematics and Related Areas (3)]. 19. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. pp. x+247. ISBN 3-540-50613-6. MR 1051888.

External links

• Template:Springer
• Template:Mathworld