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Common Functions and Properties of the FT


Reading

Gonzalez and Woods, Ch. 3.3.1--3.3.7


Fourier Transforms for Common Functions

Here are some Fourier Transforms for some common functions:


Properties of the Fourier Transform

For this section, assume that is the Fourier Transform of some function .

Linearity

A function is said to be linear if . The Fourier Transform is linear:


This means

  1. Multiplying an image by a constant multiplies the images's Fourier Transform by the same constant.
  2. Adding two images togeter adds the two Fourier transforms together.

Separability

The Fourier Transform of a two-dimensional function is the Fourier Transform in one dimension of the Fourier Transform in the other direction: if


then


What this means is that we can compute the two-dimensional Fourier Transform by doing a one-dimensional Fourier Transform of the rows and then taking a one-dimensional Fourier Transform of the columns of the result.

This can be extended to any arbitrary dimension.

Rotational Invariance

Rotating the an image rotates its Fourier Transform.

Translation and Phase

Translating an image doesn't change the magnitude of the Fourier Transform, but does change its phase:

Scaling Property

Changing the spatial unit of distance changes the Fourier Transform as follows:


There is an inverse relationship between spatial distance and frequency, resulting from where P is the spatial period of the sinusoid. Expanding a signal shrinks its Fourier Transform (contracts it to lower frequencies with longer periods), and contracting a signal expands its Fourier Transform (stretches it to higher frequencies with shorter periods).


Vocabulary



© Bryan S. Morse, 1995