Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2021 / Paper 1 / 4

First take a Schwartz function, so that Fourier inversion and the exchange of integrals are justified. Inserting the inverse transform of the complex conjugate givesFor $f\in L^1\cap L^2$, approximate it by Schwartz functions in both norms. The identity just proved makes their transforms a Cauchy sequence in L2 space, while convergence in L1 space makes the transforms converge uniformly to the defining transform of $f$. Thus the two transform limits agree, and passing to the $L^2$ norms proves the finite Parseval identity. This is the normalization of the Plancherel theorem appropriate to the paper.

There is a qualification to the printed hypothesis: absolute integrability alone does not guarantee a finite square integral. For instance $f(x)=x^{-3/4}$ on $(0,1)$ and zero elsewhere belongs to $L^1$ but not $L^2$. For an $L^1$ function of this kind the transform is not in $L^2$ either, by L2 density from a square-integrable Fourier transform, so both sides are infinite if the identity is interpreted in that extended sense. The finite equality requires square integrability as well.

Use the trigonometric identity $2{\cos }^2(ax)=1+\cos (2ax)$ and express the cosine as a sum of two complex exponentials. The Fourier transform of each exponential is a shifted Dirac delta distribution:By linearity,The original function does not decay and is not absolutely integrable on the real line, so this answer is a tempered distribution, rather than an ordinary convergent Fourier integral. Its three lines represent the constant part and the two opposite spatial frequencies.

The input is even, so its Fourier transform is real and even. Decomposing the cosine into complex exponentials and integrating over its support givesCombining the fractions and using the angle addition formula yieldsThe apparent poles at $k=\pm 1$ are removable singularities; either the integral or the sine-quotient limit gives $\tilde{f}(\pm 1)=a+\sin (2a)/2$.

If $\cos a\ne 0$, expansion of the denominator givesThe oscillatory envelope is therefore $O(|k{|}^{-1})$. At $a=\pi /2+n\pi$, $n=0,1,2,\dots$, the endpoint values vanish and the first term cancels:This gives an $O(|k{|}^{-2})$ envelope. At general $a$ the truncation creates jumps in the function; at these special values it leaves the function continuous but creates jumps in its first derivative. Each additional degree of endpoint smoothness gives another inverse power, as explained by Fourier decay from a derivative jump. The exact example is the Fourier transform of a truncated cosine; isolated zeros of its oscillatory factors do not change the envelope order.