sinc function

mathcam
2013-03-21 17:17:04
Definition The sinc-function is the function sinc : R R defined as
 sin x
when x 6= 0,
x
sinc(x) =
1
when x = 0.
In some situations, it is more convenient to work with an alternative normalized variant, in which for x 6= 0 we redefine the function as
sinc(x) =

sin(x)
.
x

The remainder of this entry deals with the initial definition, though most
properties can clearly be suitably modified for the normalized version.
y
1

Properties
Using a Taylor expansion of sin, one can show that sinc is infinitely many
times differentiable. In particular, sinc is continuous. In this sense, the
value 1 for x = 0 is motivated.
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 Jordans inequality implies that | sinc(x)| 1 for all x R. More generally, one can also show that all derivatives of sinc are bounded by 1. See
this entry.
sinc is an even function.
The zeros of sinc are x = , 2, . . ..
sinc is in L2 , but not in L1 , and [?]
Z
sinc(x) dx

Z
sinc2 (x) dx

= ,
= ,

where the first of these denotes an improper Riemann integral.

For all x R, we have [?]
sinc(x)

sinc(x)

sinc(x)

x2k
,
(2k + 1)!
k=0


Y
x2
1
,
(k)2
(1)k

k=1

k=1

cos

x
.
2k

The Fourier transform of sinc is the box function, i.e.

Z
1 1 ixt
sinc(x) =
e dt.
2 1
The sinc function satisfies the differential equation
x sinc00 +2 sinc0 +x sinc = 0
This is a consequence of a comment in the sine integral entry.
There is no known simple expression for the integral of sinc. However,
this function is known as the sine integral.
Synonym and Etymology
The sinc function is also called sine cardinal or cardinal sine.
Use
The sinc function is relevant in several fields. For one, its Fourier transform is
a box, so it is the frequency respose of a perfect on/off sampling device, and
therefore often the correct way to interpolate between frequencies in a sampled
signal. The resulting function is in fact analytic on the entire complex plane.
2

References
[1] W.B. Gearhart, H.S.Shultz, The Function sinx x , The College Mathematics
Journal, March 1990, Volume 21, Number 2, pp. 90-99. (online).