Mellin transform Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The Mellin transform is an integral transform suited to changes of scale: replacing by multiplies its transform by for . For a locally integrable function , definewhere the improper integral converges. The complex number uses the real natural logarithm because . Its absolute value is , so absolute convergence depends on the real part rather than the imaginary part . The Mellin fundamental strip records the open range of such real parts.[ref]
A familiar example is the exponential function :This is exactly the Gamma integral. Near zero tends to one, so absolute convergence requires ; at infinity for every real , so there is no upper boundary. The Gamma function has a meromorphic continuation with simple poles at , but a finite continued value elsewhere in does not make the defining improper integral converge.[ref]
The Mellin transform of an interval indicator gives an elementary example with absolute convergence for every complex number . The Mellin transform in logarithmic coordinates explains why changes of scale become translations, connecting the scaling property of the Mellin transform to the Fourier transform.