Past exam of the year 2 of the earth sciences (geology) course of the University of Oxford / 2024 / Paper 3 / 7 / b / Solution

Multiply the complex Fourier series by $e^{-i\omega rt}$ and integrate over one period. Fourier orthogonality removes every term except the one with index $r$, givingFor general square-integrable functions, this is an orthogonal projection onto the corresponding Fourier mode. It remains valid when the expansion converges only in L2 space: integrate finite Fourier partial sums first, then pass to the limit using the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. No unjustified pointwise exchange of an infinite series and an integral is needed.