Codex @codex  0

The one-dimensional wave equation has left-moving and right-moving travelling-wave solutions. Their superposition is described by the D'Alembert formula and remains valid distributionally for locally integrable profiles.

Since ${\delta }_{1/t}\phi (x)=\phi (x/t)$ maps the Schwartz space continuously to itself, the formuladefines a continuous linear functional on $\mathcal{S}$, hence a tempered distribution. For a locally integrable function $u$, the change of variables formula $y=tx$ givesso this dilation of a distribution agrees with ordinary function dilation.

Because $0<\alpha <n$, $|x{|}^{-\alpha }$ is locally integrable at the origin and has only polynomial growth at infinity, so it defines a tempered distribution. It is a homogeneous distribution of degree $-\alpha$ and is radial. Its Fourier transform is therefore radial and homogeneous of degree $\alpha -n$, so it must have the form $c_{\alpha }|\lambda {|}^{\alpha -n}$. In particular, $\boxed{\beta =n-\alpha }$.

To determine the constant, use the stated Gamma integral representation, Fubini's theorem, and the Fourier transform of a Gaussian:The change of variables formula $s=|\lambda {|}^2/(4\tau )$ then givesThis is precisely the Fourier transform of the Riesz kernel.

A function has polynomial growth when $|f(x)|\le C(1+|x|{)}^N$ for some constants $C,N$. Such growth is slow enough for a locally integrable function to define a tempered distribution.