Chapter 2

Complex Signals

A number of signal processing applications make use of complex signals. Some

examples include the characterization of the Fourier transform, blood velocity
estimations, and modulation of signals in telecommunications. Furthermore,
a number of signal-processing concepts are easier to derive, explain and un-
derstand using complex notation. It is much easier, for example to add the
phases of two complex exponentials such as x(t) = ejφ1 eφ2 , than to manipulate
trigonometric formula, such as cos(φ1 ) cos(φ2 ).
We start by introducing complex signals in Section 2.1, and treating the
Fourier relations in Sec. 2.2. Among all complex signals, the so-called analytic
signals are especially useful, and these will be considered in greater detail in
Section 2.3.1.

2.1 Introduction to complex signals

A complex analog signal x(t) is formed by the signal pair {xR (t),xI (t)}, where
both xR (t) and xI (t) are the ordinary real signals. The relationship between
these signals is given by:

x(t) = xR (t) + jxI (t), (2.1)

√
where j = −1. A complex discrete (or digital) signal x(n) is defined in a
similar manner:
x(n) = xR (n) + jxI (n). (2.2)
A complex number x can be represented by its real and imaginary parts xR
and xI , or by its magnitude and phase a and θ, respectively. The relationship
between these values is illustrated in Fig. 2.1.
Complex signals are defined both in continuous time and discrete time:

x(t) = a(t) exp(jθa (t)) and x(n) = a(n) exp(jθ(n)), (2.3)

where
q q
a(t) = x2R (t) + x2I (t) and a(n) = x2R (n) + x2I (n)
xI (t) xI (n)
θ(t) = arctan and θ(n) = arctan . (2.4)
xR (t) xR (n)
xR (t) = a(t) cos(θ(t)) and xR (n) = a(n) cos(θ(n))
xI (t) = a(t) sin(θ(t)) and xI (n) = a(n) sin(θ(n))

The magnitudes a(t) and a(n) are also known as envelopes of x(t) and x(n),
respectively.

45
 46 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEX SIGNALS

Im

aejθ

xI a
θ

xR Re

Figure 2.1: Illustration of the relationship between the real and imaginary parts
of the complex number x and its magnitude and phase.

2.1.1 Useful rules and identities

Many applications require to convert between a complex number and a trigono-
Euler’s formula
metric function. The transition is given by Euler’s formula:

ejθ = cos θ + j sin θ

ejθ + e−jθ
cos θ = (2.5)
2
ejθ − e−jθ
sin θ =
2j

Example 1 on page 59 shows how to use these identities to plot the magnitude
of the spectral density function.
Useful results
Table 2.1 shows some useful identities.

r θ rejθ
1 0 ej0 = 1
1 ±π e±jπ = −1
1 ±nπ e±jnπ = −1 n odd integer
1 ±2π e±j2π = 1 n
1 ±2nπ e±j2nπ = 1 n integer
1 ±π/2 e±jπ/2 = ±j
1 ±nπ/2 e±jnπ/2 = ±j n = 1, 5, 6, 13, ...
1 ±nπ/2 e±jnπ/2 = ∓j n = 3, 7, 11, 15, ...

Table 2.1: Understanding some useful identities.

2.1.2 Phasors
The word phasor is often used by mathematicians to mean any complex number.
In engineering, it is frequently used to denote a complex exponential function of
constant modulus and linear phase, that is a function of pure harmonic behavior.
Here is an example of such a phasor:

x(t) = Aej2πf0 t , (2.6)

which has a constant modulus A and a linearly varying phase. It is not un-
common that the modulus and phase are plotted separately. Different ways to
depict phasors are illustrated in Fig. 2.2.
2.1. INTRODUCTION TO COMPLEX SIGNALS 47

Re{x(t)} Im{x(t)}

A A

−1/f0 0 1/f0 −1/f0 0 1/f0

(a) Real and imaginary components

a(t) θ(t)
A 2π

−1/f0 0 1/f0 −1/f0 0 1/f0

(b) Modulus and phase

A
Im
Re
1/f0

t
A
1/
f
0

(c) Three-dimensional view

Figure 2.2: Different depictions of the phasor A exp(j2πf0 t)

48 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEX SIGNALS

Finally it must be noted that a complex valued function or phasor, whose

real part is an even function and whose imaginary part is odd, is said to be
hermitian. A phasor whose real part is odd and the imaginary is odd, is said to
be antihermitian.

2.2 Spectrum of a complex signal

The spectrum of a complex signal can be found by using the usual expressions
for the Fourier transform. In the following we will derive the spectrum X(f ) of
the complex signal x(t) = x1 (t) + jx2 (t) as a linear combination of the spectra
X1 (f ) and X2 (f ) of the real-valued signals x1 (t) and x2 (t).
One consequence of the fact that x(t) or x(n) is complex, is that the typical
odd/even symmetry of the spectrum are lost. It is easy to demonstrate that the
following expression is valid for complex signals:

x∗ (t) ↔ X ∗ (−f ) and x∗ (n) ↔ X ∗ (−f ), (2.7)

where x∗ (t) is the complex conjugate of x(t), and (↔) denotes a Fourier trans-
form pair. Let the complex signal x(t) be expressed in the form:

x(t) = x1 (t) + jx2 (t), (2.8)

where x1 (t) and x2 (t) are real signals. Let their spectra be X1 (f ) and X2 (f ),
respectively, i.e. x1 (t) ↔ X1 (f ) and x2 (t) ↔ X2 (f ). The real part of x(t) can
be expressed as1 :
1
x1 (t) = (x(t) + x∗ (t)) . (2.9)
2
Using the linear property of the Fourier transform, we get:

1
G1 (f ) = (G(f ) + G∗ (−f )) (2.10)
2

Following the same line of considerations, one gets:

1 1
g2 (t) = −j (g(t) − g ∗ (t)) ↔ G2 (f ) = −j (G(f ) − G∗ (−f )) . (2.11)
2 2

If one uses the indexes R and I to denote the real and imaginary parts of a
signal, the following simple relations are obtained:

GR (f ) = G1R (f ) − G2I (f )
(2.12)
GI (f ) = G1I (f ) + G2R (f ).

Similar relations can be derived for discrete signals too.

2.2.1 Properties of the Fourier transform for complex sig-

nals
The basic set of properties of the Fourier transform for real signals is also valid
for complex signals. Table 2.2 gives a short overview of the properties of the
Fourier transform for analog signals. Table 2.3 gives the equivalent properties
for digital complex signals.

1 Remember that (a + jb)∗ = a − jb

2.2. SPECTRUM OF A COMPLEX SIGNAL 49

x(t) ↔ X(f ); x1 (t) ↔ X1 (f ); x2 (t) ↔ X2 (f )

1. Linearity
ax1 (t) + bx2 (t) ↔ aX1 (f ) + bX2 (f ) (2.13)

2. Symmetry
X(t) ↔ x(−f ) (2.14)

3. Scaling  
1 f
x(kt) ↔ X (2.15)
|k| k

4. Time reversal
x(−t) ↔ X(−f ) (2.16)

5. Time shifting property

x(t + t0 ) ↔ X(f )ej2πf t0 , where t0 is a real constant (2.17)

6. Frequency shift

x(t)e−2πf0 t ↔ X(f + f0 ), where f0 is a real constant (2.18)

7. Time and frequency differentiation

dp x(t) dp X(f )
↔ (j2πf )p X(f ), (−j2πt)p x(t) ↔ , p is a real number
dtp df p
(2.19)

8. Convolution

x1 (t) ∗ x2 (t) ↔ X1 (f )X2 (f ); x1 (t)x2 (t) = G1 (f ) ∗ G2 (f ) (2.20)

Parseval’s theorem
Z∞ Z
x1 (t)x∗2 (t)dt = ∞X1 (f )X2∗ (f )df (2.21)
−∞ −∞

Table 2.2: Properties of the Fourier transform for complex analog signals
.
50 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEX SIGNALS

x(n) ↔ X(f ); x1 (n) ↔ X1 (f ); x2 (n) ↔ X2 (f )

1. Linearity

ax1 (n) + bx2 (n) ↔ aX1 (f ) + bX2 (f ), a and b constants (2.22)

2. The symmetry property is not relevant

3. The scaling property is not relevant
4. Time reversal
x(−n) ↔ X(−f ) (2.23)

5. Time shift

x(n + n0 ) ↔ X(f )ej2πf n0 ∆T , n0 is an integer number (2.24)

6. Frequency shift property

x(n)e−j2πf0 n∆T ↔ X(f + f0 ) (2.25)

7. Differentiation
dp X(f )
(j2πn∆T )p x(n) ↔ (2.26)
df p

8. Convolution

x1 (n) ∗ x2 (n) ↔ X1 (f )X2 (f ); x1 (n)x2 (n) ↔ X1 (f ) ∗ X2 (f ) (2.27)

Parseval
fZs /2
∞
X 1
x1 (n)x∗2 (n) = X1 (f )X2∗ (f )df (2.28)
−∞
fs
−fs /2

Table 2.3: Properties of the Fourier transform for complex digital signals.
2.3. ANALYTIC SIGNALS 51

Figure 2.3: Filtration of complex signals.

2.2.2 Linear processing of complex signals

A complex signal consists of two real signals - one for the real and one for the
imaginary part. The linear processing of a complex signal, such as filtration
with a time-invariant linear filter, corresponds to applying the processing both
to the real and the imaginary part of the signal.
The filtration with a filter, which impulse response is real, corresponds to
two filtration operations - one for the real and one for the imaginary part of the
signal.
Filtering a complex signal using a filter with a real-valued impulse response
can be treated as two separate processes - one for the filtration of the real and
one for the filtration of the imaginary component of the input signal:

h(t) ∗ (a(t) + jb(t)) = h(t) ∗ a(t) + jh(t) ∗ b(t). (2.29)

If the filter has a complex impulse response, then the operation corresponds to
4 real filtering operations as shown in Fig. 2.3
An example of an often-used filter with complex impulse response is the filter
given by:
(
1 jm 2π
e Nn 0≤n≤N −1
hm (n) = N (2.30)
0 otherwise

The transfer function of the filter

1 sin π(f N ∆T − m) −jπ(N −1)(f ∆T −m/N )

Hm (f ) = e , (2.31)
N sin π(f ∆T − m/N )

is a function of the parameter m. Figure 2.4 illustrates both the impulse response
and the transfer function of the filter.

2.3 Analytic signals

An analytic signal is a signal, which spectrum is “one-sided”. For analog signals
this means that their spectrum is ≡ 0 for f > 0 or f < 0. Analytic discrete-time
signals have a spectrum which is ≡ 0 for − f2s < f < 0 and in the corresponding
parts of the periodic spectrum, or 0 < f < f2s and the corresponding parts of
the periodic spectrum. The so-introduced condition for an analytic signal gives
the connection between the real and the imaginary part of the complex signal.
52 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEX SIGNALS

Real part Imaginary part

0.06 0.06
0.04 0.04
0.02 0.02
h2R(n)

h2I(n)
0 0
−0.02 −0.02
−0.04 −0.04
−0.06 −0.06

0 5 10 15 0 5 10 15
n n

N = 16
1

0.8
|H2(f)|, N=16

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
−0.5 −0.4 −0.3 −0.2 −0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
f/fs

1
arg H2(f)

−1

−2

−3
−0.5 −0.4 −0.3 −0.2 −0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
f/fs

Figure 2.4: Impulse response and transfer function of a complex filter used to
carry out the Discrete-time Fourier transform.
2.3. ANALYTIC SIGNALS 53

2.3.1 Analytic analog signals

If a real signal x(t) with frequency spectrum X(f) is taken as a starting point,
then the following relations will be valid for the respective analytic signal zx (t)
and its spectrum:

2X(f ) for f > 0

zx (t) ↔ Zx (f ) = X(f ) for f = 0 (2.32)

0 for f < 0.


This relation can be expressed in a more compact form as2 :

Zx (f ) = [1 + sgn(f )]X(f ). (2.33)
1 1
Since the sgn(f ) is the fourier spectrum of the function j πt (j πt ↔ sgn(f )),
then the above equation is equivalent to:
 
1
zx (t) = δ(t) + j ∗ x(t) (2.34)
πt
Here we introduce the signal xH (t), known as the Hilbert transform of x(t) and
given by:
1
xH (t) = x(t) ∗ . (2.35)
πt
It can be seen that
zx (t) = x(t) + jxH (t). (2.36)
Notice that the complex conjugate zx∗ (t) is also analytic with spectrum given by

0
 for f > 0
∗
Zx (f ) = X(0) for f = 0 (2.37)

2X(f ) for f z < 0


and that consequently:

1
x(t) = (zx (t) + zx∗ (t)) . (2.38)
2
If zx (t) is written in the form
zx (t) = az (t) exp(jθ(t)) (2.39)
then
x(t) = az (t)cos(θz (t)) and xH (t) = az (t) sin(θ(t)) (2.40)
If the analytic signal zx (t) is filtered with a filter with a real impulse response,
then the output signal y(t) will be:
y(t) = h(t) ∗ zx (t) = h(t) ∗ x(t) + jh(t) ∗ xH (t). (2.41)
If the Hilbert transform of h(t) is denoted by hH (t), then one gets:
y(t) = x(t) ∗ (h(t) + jhH (t)) = x(t) ∗ zh (t). (2.42)
This operation is some times useful when one wants to work with analytic
signals, but has only a real signal to start with. Notice that hH (t) is usually
noncausal.
Using the symmetry property of the Fourier transform it can be shown that
the real and imaginary parts of the spectrum of a real-signal form a Hilbert
pair, that is each can be obtained from the other using a Hilbert transform.
This, and a number of other properties of the Hilbert transform can be found in
Table ??. The symbol H is used in the table to denote the Hilbert transform,
and the result is x̃(t) = H{x(t)}.
2 sgn(f ) returns the sign of the argument. It returns +1 if f > 0, −1 if f < 0, and 0 if

f = 0.
54 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEX SIGNALS

0.02 0.02

0.015 0.015

|G0(f)|
|G(f)|
0.01 0.01

0.005 fg 0.005

0 0
−0.5 0 0.5 −0.5 0 f0 0.5
f f

Figure 2.5: Construction of an analytic signal

2.3.2 Analytic discrete-time signals

If a real discrete-time signal x(n) ↔ X(f ) is used as a basis, then the corre-
sponding analytic signal3 zx (n) will be given as

fs
2X(f ) for pfs < f < (2p + 1) 2

zx (n) ↔ Zx (f ) = X(f ) for f = pfs (2.43)

0 otherwise,


where p is an integer number. Let’s consider the following spectrum:


1
 for pfs < f < (2p + 1) f2s
Z0 (f ) = 0 for f = pfs (2.44)

−1 for (2p − 1)fs < f < pfs .


The discrete time signal that corresponds to this spectrum is

2 π
j sin2 (n ). (2.45)
nπ 2
It follows directly that
 
2 π
zx (t) = δ(n) + j sin2 (n ) ∗ g(n). (2.46)
nπ 2

By analogy with the relations in Section 2.3.1 we denote the signal

2 π
xH (n) = x(n) ∗ sin2 (n ) (2.47)
nπ 2
as the Hilbert transform of x(n). The relation between zx (n), x(n) and xH (n)
is given by:
zx (n) = x(n) + jxH (n). (2.48)
Similarly to Section 2.3.1 it can be shown that

h(n) ∗ zh (n) = x(n) ∗ zh (n), (2.49)

where zh (n) = h(n) + jhH (n) = h(n) + jh(n) ∗ 2

nπ sin2 (n π2 ).

2.4 Instantaneous amplitude and frequency

Let’s consider the band-limited real signal x(t) with a band limit fg . The
amplitude spectrum of such a signal is shown in the left sub-plot of Fig. 2.5.
3 The use of the term “analytic” in relation to discrete-time signals leads to mathematical

difficulties. Many of them can, however, be circumvented if one applies the fact, that a given
digital signal corresponds to an equivalent analog signal.
2.4. INSTANTANEOUS AMPLITUDE AND FREQUENCY 55

1. Linearity

H{ax1 (t) + bx2 (t)} = ax̃1 (t) + bx̃2 (t), a and b constants (2.50)

2. Time shift
H{x(t + t0 )} = x̃(t + t0 ) (2.51)

3. Applying two times the Hilbert transform gives the original signal

H{H{x(t)}} = −x(t) (2.52)

4. The inverse Hilbert transform

∞
−1
Z
x̃(t)
x(t) = H−1 {x(t)} = − du = x̃(t) ∗ (2.53)
−∞ π(t − u) πt

5. Even/odd property
x(t) even ⇔ x̃(t) odd
(2.54)
x(t) odd ⇔ x̃(t) even

6. Conservation of energy
Z ∞ Z ∞
2
x (t)dt = x̃2 (t)dt (2.55)
−∞ −∞

7. Orthogonality Z ∞
x(t)x̃(t) = 0 (2.56)
−∞

8. Modulation
H{x(t) cos(2πf0 t)} = x(t) sin(2πf0 t) (2.57)
if (
X(f ) |f | ≤ F, f0 > F
X(f ) =
0 otherwise

9. Convolution

H{x(t) ∗ h(t)} = x(t) ∗ h̃(t) = x̃(t) ∗ h(t) (2.58)

10. Spectrum of a real signal

H{XR (f )} = −XI (f ), H{XI (f )} = XR (f ) (2.59)

where x(t) ↔ XR (f ) + jXI (f ), and x(t) is real and causal.

Table 2.4: Properties of the Hilbert transform.

56 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEX SIGNALS

1
1
0.5
0.8

g0(t)

az(t)
0 0.6

0.4
−0.5
0.2
−1
0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
t t

3
1
2
0.5
1
g0H(t)

ψz(t)
0 0

−1
−0.5
−2
−1
−3
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
t t

Figure 2.6: Instantaneous amplitude and phase for an analytic signal.

For this particular case an analytic signal can be created by frequency-shifting

the spectrum of the signal with an offset f0 , where |f0 | > fg . The frequency-
shifting operation is illustrated in the right sub-plot of Fig. 2.5. In other words,
we create a signal z0 = x(t)ej2πf0 t , which is analytic if |f0 | > fg . It can be
represented with a real and imaginary part as:
z0 (t) = x0 (t) + jx0H (t), (2.60)
where x0H (t) is the Hilbert transform of the real signal x0 (t). Using the Euler’s
relations, we find that:
x0 (t) = x(t) cos(2πf0 t), and x0H = x(t) sin(2πf0 t). (2.61)
If we assume that x(t) gets only non-negative values (x(t) ≥ 0), then it follows
immediately that:
az (t) = x(t) and θz (t) = 2πf0 t. (2.62)
The instantaneous amplitude of z0 (t) is then x(t), and the value θz0 (t)/2π is said
to be the instantaneous frequency of the signal. An example is given in Fig. 2.6.
In the case that x(t) can both be positive and negative, the amplitude az (t)
will be equal to the absolute value of x(t), az (t) = |x(t)|. The phase θz (t) of
the analytic signal will jump from with ±π in those time instances, when x(t)
changes sign. The first derivative with respect to time θ0 (t) will still be propor-
tional to the instantaneous frequency, except for the points of discontinuity as
shown in Fig. 2.7.
The concepts of instantaneous amplitude and frequency can be transferred
formally to the typical case, in which the analytic signal z(t) is given in the form
az (t) exp(jθ(t)). Figure 2.8 shows an example in which θ(t) varies non-linearly
in time.
These concepts are also applied to non-analytic signals, and the same values
can be defined for discrete-time signals. The phase of the signal is given by:
xH (t)
θ(t) = arctan . (2.63)
x(t)
The instantaneous frequency is proportional to the derivative of the phase with
respect to time, and can be found from:
θ0 (t) 1 x(t)x0H (t) − xH (t)x0 (t)
= · (2.64)
2π 2π x2 (t) + x2H (t)
2.4. INSTANTANEOUS AMPLITUDE AND FREQUENCY 57

1
1
0.5
0.8
g0(t)

az(t)
0 0.6

0.4
−0.5
0.2
−1
0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
t t

3
1
2
0.5
1
g0H(t)

ψz(t)
0 0

−1
−0.5
−2
−1
−3
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
t t

Figure 2.7: Instantaneous amplitude and phase for an analytic signal with a
point of discontinuity.

1
1
0.5
0.8
gR(t)

az(t)

0 0.6

0.4
−0.5
0.2
−1
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t t

3
1
2
0.5
1
ψz(t)
gI(t)

0 0

−1
−0.5
−2
−1
−3
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t t

Figure 2.8: Instantaneous amplitude and phase of a signal with non-linear

variation of θz (t).
58 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEX SIGNALS

(2 r)−0.5
0.5

gR(t)
0

−0.5

−1

−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3
t

r−0.5
0.5
gI(t)

−0.5

−1

−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3
t

0.5

0
gI(t)

−0.5

−1

0.5

−0.5 3
2
1
−1 0
gR(t) −1
−2
−3
t

Figure 2.9: Complex FM signal xF M (t) = exp(jπrt2 )

2.4.1 Linear FM signal

The complex signal exp(jπrt2 ), where r is a constant has some interesting prop-
erties. From the expression it can be seen that the amplitude of the signal is 1,
and that the phase of the signal is given by:

θ(t) = πrt2 . (2.65)

The signal is illustrated in Fig. 2.9. The spectrum of the signal is formally
given by:
Z ∞ Z ∞ r
jπrt2 −j2πf t −jπf 2 /r jπr(t−f /r)t2 j −jπf 2 /r
XF M (f ) e e dt = e e dt = e .
−∞ −∞ r
(2.66)
The amplitude spectrum of the signal is constant (frequency independent), and
its phase spectrum varies quadratically with frequency. Notice the similarity
between the signal and its spectrum.
2.4. INSTANTANEOUS AMPLITUDE AND FREQUENCY 59

The instantaneous frequency fi is found to be:

θ0
fi = = rt. (2.67)
2π

The instantaneous frequency fi increases linearly with time at rate defined by

the constant r (measured for example in Hz/sec.). This is the reason why this
signal is called linear frequency modulated signal/pulse. Figure 2.9 shows the
signal as a function of time.
It can be seen, that this signal does not belong to the set of signals with
finite energy. However, the signal

x(t) = a(t)exp(jπrt2 ), (2.68)

where a(t) is appropriately chosen real signal, does. The spectrum X(f ) of this
signal can be found from:
Z ∞
−jπf 2 /r 2
X(f ) = e a(t)ejπr(f /r−t) dt. (2.69)
−∞

In other words, the shape of the amplitude spectrum |X(f )| is determined by

the convolution of two functions A(f ) and exp(jπrf 2 ). While the result of this
convolution cannot always be calculated directly, one can for ”very large” values
of the parameter r use an approximation, which is described in the following
paragraphs.
Consider the following signal:
r
p
∆p (t) = exp(jπpt2 ). (2.70)
j

It can be shown that ∆p (t) → δ(t), when p → ∞. Correspondingly one can

show, that for large values of the product rT , where T is the “duration” of a(t),
we have:
  r
f j −jπf 2 /r
X(f ) ≈ a · ·e (2.71)
r r

if a(f ) is continuous. Under these conditions, |X(f )| has almost the same shape
os |a(t)| (appropriately scaled though).
Consider the Fourier transform pair:
r
2 j
a(t) ∗ exp(jπrt ) ↔ Xa (f ) · exp(−jπf 2 /r), (2.72)
r

where a(t) ↔ Xa (f ). When the product rT is small, one can use similar con-
siderations as above and show that the signal a(t) ∗ exp(jπrt2 ) has an envelope,
whose shape is given by |Xa (f )|. |Xa (f )| must be appropriately delayed and
scaled.
Figure 2.10 shows an example of the result from the convolution operation
for a rectangular signal, whose duration is varied.
Notice that if a(t) is time-limited, i.e. starts at t = t1 and ends at t = t2 ,
then the a FM-signal with a “start” and “end” frequencies rt1 and rt2 is created.
This can also be achieved by applying the frequency-shift property of the Fourier
transform.
60 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEX SIGNALS

cos(π r t2)
1
g (t) (2 r)−0.5
0
R

−1
2
sin(π r t )
1
r−0.5
g (t)

0
I

−1
−4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4

0.015

0.01
g (t)
1

0.005

0
−4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4
|g (t) * exp(jπ r t2)|

0.5
1

0
−4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4
t
−3
x 10

4
g2(t)

0
−4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4
|g2(t) * exp(jπ r t2)|

0.6
0.4
0.2
0
−4 −3 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4
x 10
3
g3(t)

0
−4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4
|g3(t) * exp(jπ r t2)|

0.4

0.2

0
−4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4
t

Figure 2.10: Averaged complex FM signals

2.5. EXAMPLE PROBLEMS 61

2.5 Example problems

Example 1
Plot the magnitude of the transfer function of a high-pass filter, which is described by:

y(n) = x(n) − x(n − 1) (2.73)

Solution
Using the rules of linearity and time shift we obtain:

Y (f ) = X(f )(1 − e−j2πf )

| {z }
H(f )
−j2πf
|H(f )| = |1 − e |
−jπf
= 2|e || sin(πf )|
| {z }
=1

The spectrum is illustrated in Fig. 2.11

2
|H(f)| (V/Hz)

1.5

0.5

0
−0.5 0 0.5
f (oscillations/second)

Figure 2.11: The transfer function of the system from Example 1.