Copyright Rene Barrientos Page 1

Theorems Involving the Laplace Transform

Definition The Laplace Transform of a function (t) is an integral operator defined by
L{(t)] = _ c
-st
(t)Jt

0

It is naturally assumed that he function has certain properties on |u, ) that permit the integral to
converge for at least some values of s. We denote the resulting function of the variable s by F(s). That is,
F(s) = I{(t)] which is defined for values of s for which the integral converges.
Functions of Exponential Order
A function f is of exponential order at t - on the Interval |u, ) if there exists a constant H > u and
constants k anu I such that
|(t)| Hc
kt

for all t I.
Piecewise Continuous Functions
f is piecewise (or sectionally) continuous on an open interval |o, b] if there are at most a finite number of
points t
]
with o < t
1
< t
2
< < t
k
< b such that 1) f is continuous on each subinterval (t
]
, t
]+1
) and
2) f has one-sided limits at the endpoints of all subintervals. That is, for all t
]
, lim
t-t
]
+ (t) and
lim
t-t
]
-
(t) both exist as well as the limits at the endpoints lim
t-u
+ (x) and lim
t-b
- (x).
Theorem 1 If f is piecewise continuous and of exponential order on |u, ), then L{(t)] exists.
Corollary 1 If F(s) exists, then lim
s-
F(s) = u.
Theorem 2 The Laplace Transform is a linear operator: If
1
and
2
are piecewise continuous and of
exponential order on |u, ), then
L{c
1

1
+ c
2

2
] = c
1
L{
1
] +c
2
L{
2
]
for any constants c
1
and c
2
.
In what follows, assume that F(s) = L{(t)] and 0(s) = L{g(t)] exist. Then:
Theorem 3
{c
ut
(t)] = F(s - o)
in words, the transform of c
ut
(t) is the transform of (t) evaluated at s -o:
L{c
ut
(t)] = L{(t)]|
s-u

Theorem 4
L{u(t - o) (t)] = c
-us
L{(t + o)]

Alternatively,
L{u(t -o) (t - o)] = c
-us
F(s)
Theorem 5 If n is a positive integer,
I{t
n
(t)] = (-1)
n
J
n
Js
n
F(s)
Theorem 6 If f is periodic with period T,
L{(t)] =
1
1 -c
-1s
_ c
-st
(t)Jt
1
0



Copyright Rene Barrientos Page 2

The Convolution Integral
If f and g are piecewise continuous on |u, ) we the define the convolution of f and g, denoted by - g,
by the integral
( - g)(t) = _ () g(t - )J
t
0

Theorem 7 The convolution of two functions is commutative: ( - g)(t) = (g - )(t)
Theorem 8 L{ - g] = F(s) 0(s). That is,
L __ () g(t -)J
t
0
_ = F(s) 0(s)
Theorem 9
L __ ()J
t
0
_ =
1
s
F(s)
Theorem 10 If has a transform and lim
t-0
+
](t)
t
exists and is finite, then
L _
(t)
t
_ = _ F(o)Jo

s

The Inverse Laplace Transform
A function f(t) is the Inverse Laplace Transform of a functions F(s) if L{(t)] = F(s)
The inverse transform of F(s) is denoted by L
-1
{F(s)]:
L
-1
{F(s)] = (t) = L{(t)] = F(s)
The inverse transform has the following integral form:
L
-1
{F(s)] =
1
2ni
lim
1-
_ c
st
F(s)
{+1
{-1
Js
This requires knowledge of contour integration, a subject that is taken up in a Complex Analysis course.
Corresponding to each of formula for the transform, there is a inverse transform formula:
Theorem 2 The Inverse Laplace Transform is a linear operator. If F
1
and F
2
are functions which poses
inverse transforms
1
and
2
, respectively, then
L
-1
{c
1
F
1
(s) +c
2
F
2
(s)] = c
1
L
-1
{F
1
(s)] +c
2
L
-1
{F
2
(s)]
Theorem 3
L
-1
{F(s - o)] = c
ut
(t)
Alternatively, we can write this formula as
L
-1
{F(s - o)] = c
ut
L
-1
{F(s)]
Theorem 4
L
-1
{c
-us
F(s)] = u(t - o) (t - o)
Alternatively,
L
-1
{c
-us
F(s)] = u(t - o) L
-1
{F(s)]|
t-u

Although the transform of a product is not the product of the transforms, the convolution has that
multiplicative property. Therefore,
Theorem 8
L
-1
{F(s) 0(s)] = ( - g)(t)
Copyright Rene Barrientos Page 3

Theorem 10
(t)
t
= L
-1
__ F(o)Jo

s
_
or
(t) = tL
-1
__ F(o)Jo

s
_