The function is odd, so its Fourier series has no constant or cosine terms. If , it is already a Fourier basis function: for the only sine coefficient is ; for it is ; for the function is zero.
For real noninteger , the product-to-sum identity gives
Since both numerator sines equal , the Fourier series of a noninteger-frequency sine is
It equals the function for . At either periodic endpoint it equals the average of the two one-sided limits, namely zero; the noninteger-frequency function has a jump in its periodic extension there. Equality also holds in the square-integral sense on the full interval.
For , and . The Parseval identity for a real sine series is . Hence
For an odd integrable function, both and are odd. Their integrals over therefore vanish, so the constant and cosine Fourier coefficients are zero. For , the remaining Fourier sine coefficients are
The product-to-sum identity in the first step reduces the integral to two cosines. Here is real and noninteger, so no denominator vanishes. Consequently the Fourier series of a noninteger-frequency sine is
At every term is zero. The Fourier series converges there to the average of the two limits of the periodic extension, namely zero, rather than to the nonzero endpoint values .
Figure 1.
Fourier approximation to a noninteger-frequency sine and its periodic jump
. Original illustration with . Increasing the number of modes improves the interior approximation while the periodic endpoint jumps retain their Gibbs overshoot. The series has value zero at each endpoint. Details.