A Generalized Transform, Grouping

Fourier, Laplace and Z Transforms

Michael J. Corinthios, Fellow IEEE
Professor, Ecole Polytechnique de Montral
Campus Universit de Montral
2500 Chemin de Polytechnique,
Montral, Qc, H3T 1J4
Canada

ABSTRACT
The following is a summary description of some
research results that were taught to students over
many years and communicated by the author in
IEEE Proceedings submission, in book
proposals, and poster sessions.

applies to the Fourier transform and the more

general Laplace and z transforms.

1.0 INRODUCTION

A generalized transform, grouping Fourier and

Laplace transform in the continuous-time domain
and Fourier and z transform in the discrete-time
domain is proposed. A generalized formalism is
obtained for the continuous time domain and a
similar one for the discrete time domain.

Generalized
functions,
distributions
and
impulses have extended the existence of Fourier
transform to functions that lead to generally
divergent integrals. Two-sided infinite duration
exponentially growing functions such as
et , < t < , or a n , < n < , however,
have no Fourier transform even as a distribution,
and have no Laplace nor z transforms. The
classical as well as the more recent authoritative
reference books on the subject [1]-[9] thus make
a clear distinction between functions having
impulsive Fourier transforms and other functions

The key to the existence of a generalized

formalism and transform is based on a
generalization of the formalism of generalized
functions, and the Dirac-delta impulse in
particular. A generalization of the Dirac-delta
impulse is proposed, both in the continuous time
domain and in the discrete time domain. The
generalization of the impulse leads to a
considerable extension of the domain of
existence of Laplace and z transforms. Functions
and sequences that have impulsive Fourier
transforms and hitherto no Laplace or z
transform are rendered within the region of
convergence of these transforms. More
importantly, a large class of functions and
sequences that have no Fourier transform, such
as two-sided infinite duration growing
exponentials and exponentially diverging
sinusoids, now have Laplace and z transforms.

The proposed generalization of the impulse

extends the convergence of Laplace and z
transforms by adding generalized impulses on
their complex plane. The Fourier transform can
thus be evaluated as a special case of Laplace
and z transform as is the case for other functions.
The thus extended Laplace transform becomes a
generalized transform, of which the Fourier
transform, when it exists, is evaluated for any
function as a special case thereof. Similarly, in
the discrete time domain, the extended z
transform becomes a generalized transform of
which the Fourier transform, when it exists, can
be evaluated for any sequence as a special case.

Two generalized impulses, namely, the Xi and

Zeta impulses, defined on the complex transform
plane are proposed. These generalized impulses
may provide the missing link that bridges the gap
between the theory of generalized functions as it

10-7803-7573-4/02/$17.00 002 IEEE

172

discrete-time functions, respectively, are

proposed. In particular the Generalized
Impulse or the impulse denoted by
( z ) where z
is generally complex,
z = x + jy , is defined by:
( z ) = 0, z 0

A more important contribution of the generalized

impulse is to extend the existence of Laplace and
z transforms to functions and sequences that
have hitherto had neither Laplace, Fourier nor z
transforms. It is shown that a large new class of
functions which have no Fourier transform, such
as infinite duration two sided growing
exponentials and infinite duration two sided
exponentially growing sinusoids, can be
transformed by the Generalized transform.

( jy ) dy = 1

For discrete-time signals and the z transform we

similarly introduce the definition of a Zeta
Generalized Impulse.

Two generalized impulses, namely, the Xi and

Zeta impulses, defined on the complex s plane
and z plane of continuous-time and discrete-time
functions, respectively, are proposed.
The
generalized impulse may provide the missing
link that bridges the gap between the theory of
generalized functions [9] as it applies to the
Fourier transform and the more general Laplace
and z transforms. The result is a generalized
transform which exists for a new large class of
functions and which becomes the Fourier
transform, as a special case, when the Fourier
transform exists.

( + 2k ), z = r e j

0
0
( z r0 e ) = k =
0, otherwise
j0

where the symbol ( y ) denotes the Dirac-Delta

impulse. In what follows a summary of results
obtained is given in tabular form. The usual
Laplace transform, as it is conventionally
defined, is equal to the Generalized
transform after deleting the generalized
impulses and their derivatives and
restricting the convergence region accordingly. It
is noted that many functions that have an
Generalized transform do not have a
(conventional) Laplace transform. In particular
all functions the transforms of which are
composed solely of impulses and/or their
derivatives have no (conventional) Laplace
transform. Moreover, The Fourier transform is
obtained from the Generalized transform by
the simple substitution s = j . There is no
more a need for a distinction to be made between
functions that have singular points on the
imaginary axis and those that do not. Hitherto,
such a distinction had to be made The
Generalized transform applies directly to all
functions.

A companion "Laplace Series" recently proposed

as a generalization of Fourier series [10] is
shown to provide coefficients in the form of a
discrete spectrum along lines in the s plane and
is well suited for the analysis of the finite
impulse response of continuous-time systems as
well as exponentially growing periodic
functions. It is shown, moreover, that Impulsive
Laplace spectra can be evaluated from Laplace
series.
The Discrete z Transform, a simple extension
of the Discrete Fourier Transform, and a spectral
weighting thereof that reveals hidden system
poles of a finite impulse response have been
recently proposed [11]. Similar z transforms,
evaluated mainly along circles in the z plane
would display generalized impulses as much as
the Fourier transform can have impulses on the
unit circle.

The same remarks apply to discrete-time

functions. The usual z transform, as it is
conventionally defined, is equal to the
Generalized transform after deleting the

2.0 ON THE GENERALIZATION OF

THE DIRAC-DELTA IMPULSE

generalized impulses and their derivatives

and restricting the convergence region
accordingly. Similarly, many functions that have
a Generalized transform do not have a
(conventional) z transform. In particular all

As stated, two generalized impulses, namely, the

Xi and Zeta impulses, defined on the complex s
plane and z plane of continuous-time and

173

[5]
Wilbur
P.
Lepage,
Complex Variables and the Laplace Transform
for Engineers, Dover, 1961.
[6]
Doetsch,
Gustav,
Introduction to the Theory of and Application
of the Laplace Transformattion, Springer
Verlag, New York 1974.
[7]
Holl, Dio L., Maple, Clair,
J. and Vinograd, Bernard, Introduction to the
Laplace Transform, Appleton Century-Crofts,
New York 1959.
[8]
Wolf,
Bernardo
Kurt,
Integral transforms in Science and Engineering,
Plenum Press, New York 1979.
[9]
Jones, D. S., The Theory of
Generalized Functions , Cambridge University
Press, London 1982.
[10]
Corinthios,
Michael.
Laplace
spectrum
for
exponential
decomposition and pole zero estimation, IEE
Proceedings, Vision, Image and Signal
Processing, October 2001.
[11]
Corinthios, Michael. , "A Weighted Z
Spectrum for Mathematical Model Estimation",
IEEE Trans. Comput. Vol 45 No. 5, May,1996,
pp 513-528.

sequences the transforms of which are composed

solely of impulses and/or their derivatives
have no (conventional) z transform. Moreover,
the Fourier transform is obtained from the
Generalized transform by the simple
j

substitution z = e . There is no more a need

for a distinction to be made between sequences
that have poles on the unit circle and those that
do not. The Generalized transform applies
identically to all sequences.
It is interesting to note the effect of the gap that
separated the Fourier transform, with its
admission of generalized functions, and the
Laplace and z transforms that had no
corresponding generalized impulses. Such a gap
is probably one of the main reasons that the
Bilateral Laplace and z transforms have hitherto
received little attention. Even the advanced
books on Laplace and z transform focus mainly
their attention on the Unilateral transform and
often mention the Bilateral transform in passing.
This is certainly not the case with the Fourier
transform wherein two-sided infinite duration
functions such as unity and pure infinite-duration
sinusoids are the fundamental building blocks of
the most important transform relations. The
Generalized transform should put an end to such
a gap, producing one transform that applies to all
cases in one shot.

5.0 CONCLUSION
Generalized Transforms are obtained through a
generalization of generalized functions starting with
the Dirac-delta function. The Fourier transform is burt
a special case of the generalized transforms.

3.0 A SAMPLE OF GENERALIZED

TRANSFORMS
Tables 1 and 2 present a brief summary of continuousdomain and discrete domain generalized transforms.

6.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
4.0 REFERENCES
The author wishes to acknowledge the support of
the National Science and Enginneering Research
Council of Canada for the NSERC research grant
and valuable support. Many thanks are due to Dr.
Spyros
Tzafestas
for
his
invitation,
encouragement and support during a sabbatical
year at Athens Polytechnique University during
which some of this work was carried out. The
author wishes to acknowledge with thanks the
many fruitful discussions with Clement Frappier.
Support of colleagues through correspondence,
such as R. Marceau, is also hereby
acknowledged.

[1]
Papoulis, Athanasios , The
Fourier Integral and Its Applications, McGraw
Hill 1962.
[2]
Bracewell, R.N., "The
Fourier Transform And Its Applications",
McGraw Hill 1986.
[3]
Van der Pol, B. and
Bremmer,
H.,
"Operational
Calculus",
Cambridge University Press, 1964.
[4]
Jeffery, Alan, Complex
Analysis and Applications, CRC Press, Boca
Raton, 1992.

174

Table 2

Table 1

Generalized Z Transforms of basic

functions

Generalized Laplace Transforms of

basic functions

xc (t )

2 (s)

1
e

x[n]

Transform X c ( s)

Generalized

2 ( s a)

at

cosh(at )

{ [ s a ] + [ s + a ]}

cosh( j t )

{ [ ] + [ + ]}

u (t )

1/ s + ( s )

Generalized

Transform X ( z )

2 ( z 1)

an

2 (z a)

u[n]

1
+ ( z 1)
1 z 1

4 cos n

2 { ( z a ) + ( z a* ) + ( z a 1 ) + ( z a 1* ) +

cosh n{1 + (1) n }

( z + a ) + ( z + a* ) + ( z + a 1 ) + ( z + a 1* )}

a n u[n]

1
+ ( z a )
1 az 1

e u (t )

1/( s a) + ( s a)

e t cos( t )

{ ( s a) + ( s a* )},
a = + j

2 d ( s ) / ds

a n b n u[n]

tn

1
+ ( z ab)
1 abz 1

( 1) n 2 ( n ) ( s )

cos[0 n + ]

[e j ( z e j ) + e j ( z e j )]

at

t u (t )
t n e at u (t )
1
+ (t )
jt

n !/ s

n +1

+ ( 1)

n!
(s a)

+ ( 1)
n

n +1

( n)

(n)

( s)

n n0

u[ n n0 ]

(s a)

[n kN ]

k =

2 ( s)

na n u[n]

4 cos t cosh t

2 { ( s a) + ( s a* ) + ( s + a ) + ( s + a* )}

(t ) n

2 ( n ) ( s )

(n + 1)a n u[n]

tu (t )

1
+ ( s )
s2

n r u[n]

n!
+ (1) n ( n ) ( s )
( s ) n +1

nr

t n e t u (t )
t

( t ) e u ( t )
n

n +1

n!

(s + )

n +1

( 1)

n0

1
{
+ ( z a )}
1 az 1

2
N

(z e

j (2 / N ) k

k =

az 1
(1 az 1 ) 2

+ (1) ( z a )

1
{z (1) ( z a ) ( z a )}
(1 az 1 ) 2
r

( 1)i i !

S (r , i)z {( z 1)
i

i =1

i +1

+ (1) r (i ) ( z 1)}

(1) r 2 S ( r , i ) z i (i ) ( z 1)
i =1

n r a n u ( n)

+ ( n ) ( s + )

S (r , i)a i z i {
i =1

(1)i i !
+
(a 1 z 1)i +1

(1) r (i ) ( z a)}

175