Gaussian Poisson summation identity 2026-10-14
Take the Gaussian function with . Every derivative is a polynomial times the same Gaussian function, so is a Schwartz function. The Fourier transform of a Gaussian gives, in the cycles convention,Thus the Poisson summation formula gives the exact identityThe Gaussian Fourier transform is given in scaled form in Exercise 41 of Terence Tao's 245C, Notes 2: The Fourier transform.[ref]
245C, Notes 2: The Fourier transform by Terence Tao. §3, Exercise 41: transform of a scaled Gaussian; put r=1/sqrt(a) and adjust its prefactor
The identity is also the imaginary-axis transformation of the Jacobi theta function. At the Gaussian function is its own Fourier transform; at reciprocal values of its spatial and spectral widths exchange.For a short derivation of the Gaussian Fourier transform, write . Differentiation under the integral and integration by parts, using , giveThe Gaussian integral gives , so this ordinary differential equation yields the claimed formula. The decay of the Gaussian function justifies these steps and removes the boundary term.[ref]
Lecture 17: The functional equation. Lecture 17, §17.1, Lemma 17.9 and proof, printed p. 3: differential-equation proof for the unit Gaussian; scaled here to a>0
For , the physical Gaussian function has width parameter , while its Fourier transform has width parameter . Many physical samples matter, but the dual zero sample already givesFor , use the physical side instead:These are bounds on the full positive tails, obtained below, rather than estimates based only on the first omitted term. Ordinary floating-point arithmetic rounds these sums to and ; the exact real numbers are slightly larger. A Gaussian sum truncation bound lets us choose the cheaper side and certify its truncation error before evaluating it.
Poisson summation formula Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The Poisson summation formula equates sample sums of a function and its Fourier transform. Exchanging broad and narrow sums can save work. Use the conventionFor every Schwartz function ,Both series have absolute convergence. A sufficient hypothesis is that is smooth and for all nonnegative integers ; its Fourier transform is then also a Schwartz function.[ref]
245C, Notes 2: The Fourier transform by Terence Tao. §3, Definition 32 and Exercise 54: Schwartz hypotheses and Poisson summation on the integer lattice
This assumption controls both decay and regularity; mere membership of an L1 space does not control values at individual sampling points, as periodization of an integrable function illustrates.Here counts cycles per unit length. In the angular convention used elsewhere in Fourier analysis, , so and the right-hand side becomes . Keeping the Fourier transform convention explicit prevents stray factors. Changing the sample spacing leads to the Poisson summation formula for a Euclidean lattice.
