[Math] 1D wave equation with Boundary Conditions: Fourier Transform solution

boundary value problemdistribution-theoryfourier transformpartial differential equations

I am considering the 1D wave equation with $c=1$ for the sake of simplicity:
$$u_{tt}-u_{xx}=0,\quad \forall x\in\mathbb R,\; \forall t\in\mathbb R\tag{1}\label{eq:1}$$
with the following boundary conditions (initial conditions are ignored for now)
$$
\begin{align}
&u(0,t)=0\tag{2}\label{eq:2}\\
&u(L,t)=0\tag{3}\label{eq:3}
\end{align}
$$

for some strictly positive $L$. The boundary conditions are just seen as constraints on the sought solution $u(x,t)$ [By this I mean that the solution $u(x,t)$ is still defined for all $x\in\mathbb R$]. I am using the Fourier Transform approach to solve, that is
$$\hat{u}(x,\omega)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}}\int_{-\infty}^{+\infty}u(x,t)\mathrm{e}^{-i\omega t} \mathrm{d}t$$
When plugged into the wave equation, the ODE governing $\hat{u}(x)$ reads
$$\omega^2\hat{u}(x,\omega)+\hat{u}_{xx}(x,\omega)=0$$
whose general solution is
$$\hat{u}(x,\omega)=A\cos \omega x+B\sin\omega x$$
The Fourier Transform of (2) implies $\hat{u}(0,\omega)=A=0$ while the Fourier Transform of (3) implies $B\sin \omega L=0$, that is
$$ \omega_k=k\pi/L,\quad k=1,2,\ldots\tag{4}\label{eq:4}$$
if we decide to discard vanishing solutions. As a consequence:
$$\hat{u}(x,\omega)=\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}B_k\sin\omega_k x\tag{5}\label{eq:5}$$
which satisfies (1), (2) and (3).

Question My question is on the inverse transform, whose usual definition is
$$u(x,t)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}}\int_{-\infty}^{+\infty}\hat{u}(x,\omega)\mathrm{e}^{i\omega t}\mathrm{d}\omega,\quad k=1,2,\ldots\tag{6}$$
Since $\omega$ now takes discrete values $\omega_k$ through (5), what is the meaning of the integral in (6) so that the Inverse Fourier Transform makes sense. In other words, through which mathematical argument can we deduce the definition of the discrete Inverse Fourier Transform from the continuous Inverse Fourier Transform?

Possible "wrong" answer

Solution (5) can we expressed as:
$$\hat{u}(x,\omega)=\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}B_k \langle\delta_{\omega_k} , \sin\omega x\rangle\tag{7}$$
where $\delta_{\omega_k}$ denotes the usual Dirac distribution at $\omega_k$, that is $\delta_{\omega_k}=\delta(\omega-\omega_k)$.
Inserting (7) into (6) yields
$$u(x,t)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}}\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}B_k\int_{-\infty}^{+\infty}\langle \delta_{\omega_k} , \sin\omega x\,\mathrm{e}^{i\omega t}\rangle \mathrm{d}\omega\tag{8}$$
which becomes (even though the integral itself is not well defined)
$$u(x,t)=\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}B_k\sin\omega_k x\,\mathrm{e}^{i\omega_k t}$$
as expected (The $B_k$ have been scaled by a factor $\sqrt{2\pi}$). However (8) is not right, mathematically speaking. I'd be interested in a mathematically sound formulation.

Best Answer

Equation (5) is wrong. The correct is $$ \hat{u}(x,\omega) = \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} B_k \sin\omega_k x \, \delta(\omega-\omega_k) \label{new5} \tag{5'} . $$

Then, $$\begin{align} u(x,t) &= \mathcal{F}^{-1}\{ \hat{u}(x,\omega) \} \\ &= \mathcal{F}^{-1}\left\{ \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} B_k \sin\omega_k x \, \delta(\omega-\omega_k) \right\} \\ &= \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} B_k \, \sin\omega_k x \, \mathcal{F}^{-1}\left\{ \delta(\omega-\omega_k) \right\} \\ &= \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} B_k \, \sin\omega_k x \, \frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}} \, e^{i\omega_k t} . \end{align}$$

Note:
Equation \eqref{new5} can also be written as $$ \hat{u}(x,\omega) = \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} B_k \sin\omega x \, \delta(\omega-\omega_k) = \sin\omega x \, \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} B_k \delta(\omega-\omega_k) = B(\omega) \sin\omega x \, \sum_{k=1}^{\infty} \delta(\omega-\omega_k) , $$ where $B(\omega_k) = B_k.$ The last sum is called the Dirac comb.

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