Odd extension Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-11-05
For , its odd extension to the real line is
The zero value is forced by oddness, whether or not the extension is continuous. If has a finite right limit at zero, the extension is continuous there exactly when that limit is zero. Thus extending gives a jump, while extending gives the smooth function .
More generally, suppose has continuous right derivatives through order at zero. Its odd extension is exactly when every even-order endpoint derivative through order , including , is zero. Differentiating the reflected formula shows that the left order- limit is . In the radial reduction of the three-dimensional wave equation, the factor has a smooth odd extension when is a smooth radial field at the origin.
For a radial function, the Laplacian is . Introduce the retarded and advanced null coordinates and the radial reduction of the three-dimensional wave equation:
The chain rule gives and . Consequently the inhomogeneous wave equation is
Multiplying the radial wave equation by removes its first-order radial derivative:
Thus the particularly useful retarded and advanced null coordinates form is
These formulas hold for . At the axis, smooth spherical symmetry imposes and ; equivalently has a smooth odd extension across .
Use the radial reduction of the three-dimensional wave equation and extend oddly in . Write , where is the homogeneous wave equation solution with the prescribed Cauchy data, and has zero Cauchy data. With and , the D'Alembert formula gives
Both odd initial profiles have compact support, so
The Duhamel principle, applied to , gives
Now write with . The lower integration limit is , so this domain of dependence never crosses the axis. Intersecting its integration interval with the support of the source leaves a subset of , of length at most one. On this interval,
The outgoing shell source estimate for a radial wave therefore yields
Finally , and thus
This constant depends only on the Cauchy data and the fixed unit bound for the source. The logarithm comes from integrating the shell's accumulated forcing, whereas the factor comes from division by .
For a radial function in three dimensions,
Set . Multiplying the wave equation by gives the radial reduction of the three-dimensional wave equation
with the regularity boundary condition .