Section 25.7

Convergence of Fourier Series

To what value does the infinite series actually converge?

1

Introduction

Most of the time, the series equals the function.

At points of discontinuity (jumps), it converges to the average of the jump.

2

Convergence Theorem

Dirichlet Conditions

If and are piecewise continuous on , then the Fourier series converges to:

At points where f is continuous, this is just .

3

Gibbs Phenomenon

Near a jump discontinuity, the partial sums "overshoot" the function by about 9%.

As , the overshoot moves closer to the jump but does not disappear in amplitude.

4

Worked Examples

Example 1: Continuous Point

on .

At , it converges to .

At endpoints : .

Since boundaries match, it converges to .

Example 2: Jump

for , for .

At , left limit is -1, right limit is 1.

Series converges to .

This is why Fourier Series for signum function is 0 at the origin.

Example 3: Visual Gibbs

Zoom in near zero to see the overshoot!

4

Practice Quiz

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