- #1
flyusx
- 18
- 0
- Homework Statement
- Calculate the Fourier series of $$\phi(k)=\sqrt{\frac{3}{2a^3}}(a-\vert k\vert)$$ for ##\vert k\vert\leq a##, where ##\phi(k)=0## elsewhere.
- Relevant Equations
- $$\mathcal{F}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}}\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\phi(k)\exp(ikx)\;dk$$
This is technically a Fourier transform of a quantum function, but the problem I'm having is solely mathematical.
Conducting this integral is relatively straightforward. We can pull the square roots out since they are constants, rewrite the bounds of the integral to be from ##-a## to ##a## (since the function is zero outside this bound), split the integral into two parts to get rid of the absolute value of ##k## and do integration by parts. Prior to integration by parts, the Fourier transform becomes
$$\sqrt{\frac{3}{4\pi a^{3}}}\left(\int_{-a}^{0} k\exp(ikx)\;dk-\int_{0}^{a}k\exp(ikx)\;dk+a\int_{-a}^{a}\exp(ikx)\;dk\right)$$
I did integration by parts by hand and used Maple to convert the exponentials into trig. The Fourier transform simplifies into $$\sqrt{\frac{12}{\pi a^{3}}}\frac{1}{x^{2}}\sin^{2}\left(\frac{ax}{2}\right)$$.
However, the book (Zettili Quantum Mechanics, Problem 1.11a on page 75 of the 3rd edition, probably present in previous editions) says the Fourier transform is equal to $$\frac{4}{x^{2}}\sin^{2}\left(\frac{ax}{2}\right)$$. Seeing as Maple confirms my Fourier transform to be correct, I know I didn't make an error so is this an error in the book?
Conducting this integral is relatively straightforward. We can pull the square roots out since they are constants, rewrite the bounds of the integral to be from ##-a## to ##a## (since the function is zero outside this bound), split the integral into two parts to get rid of the absolute value of ##k## and do integration by parts. Prior to integration by parts, the Fourier transform becomes
$$\sqrt{\frac{3}{4\pi a^{3}}}\left(\int_{-a}^{0} k\exp(ikx)\;dk-\int_{0}^{a}k\exp(ikx)\;dk+a\int_{-a}^{a}\exp(ikx)\;dk\right)$$
I did integration by parts by hand and used Maple to convert the exponentials into trig. The Fourier transform simplifies into $$\sqrt{\frac{12}{\pi a^{3}}}\frac{1}{x^{2}}\sin^{2}\left(\frac{ax}{2}\right)$$.
However, the book (Zettili Quantum Mechanics, Problem 1.11a on page 75 of the 3rd edition, probably present in previous editions) says the Fourier transform is equal to $$\frac{4}{x^{2}}\sin^{2}\left(\frac{ax}{2}\right)$$. Seeing as Maple confirms my Fourier transform to be correct, I know I didn't make an error so is this an error in the book?