118 2 Time-Domain Analysis of Continuous-Time Systems System Response to Delayed Impulse If h(t) is the response of an LTIC system to the input 4(t), then h(t —T) is the response of this same system to the input 6(t -T). This conclusion follows from the time-invatiance property of LTIC systems. Thus, by knowing the unit impulse response h(t), we can determine the system response to a delayed impulse 6(t —T) 2.4 System Response to External Input: Zero-state Response This section is devoted to the determination of the zero-state response of an LTIC system. This is the system response y(t) to an input f(t) when the system is in zero state; that is, when all initial conditions are zero. We shall assume that the systems discussed in this section are in zero state unless men- tioned otherwise. Under these conditions, the zero-state response will be the total response of the system. We shall use the superposition principle here to derive a linear system’s re- sponse to some arbitrary input f(t). In this approach, we express f(t) in terms of impulses. We begin by approximating f(t) with narrow rectangular pulses, as depicted in Fig. 23a. This procedure gives us a staircase approximation of f(t) that improves as pulse width is reduced. In the limit as pulse width approaches zero, this representation becomes exact, and the rectangular pulses become impulses delayed by various amounts. The system response to the input /(¢) is then given by the sum of the system's responses to each (delayed) impulse component of f(t). In other words, we can determine y(t), the system response to any arbitrary input (2), if we know the impulse response of the system. For the sake of generality, we place no restriction on f(t) as to where it starts and where it ends. It is therefore assumed to exist for all time, starting at t = —co. ‘The system's total response to this input will then be given by the sum of its responses to each of these impulse components. This process is illustrated in Fig. 23. Figure 2.3a shows f(t) as a sum of rectangular pulses, each of width Ar. In the limit as Ar + 0, each pulse approaches an impulse having a strength equal to the area under that pulse. For example, as Ar + 0, the shaded rectangular pulse located at t = nAr in Fig. 2.3a will approach an impulse at the same location with strength f(nd\r).r (the shaded area under the rectangular pulse). This impulse can therefore be represented by [f(nAr)Ar}6(t — nAr), as shown in Fig. 2.3¢. If the system’s response to a unit impulse 6(t) is A(t) (Fig. 2.3b), its response to a delayed impulse 4(t ~ nAr) will be h(t ~ nr) (Fig. 2.3c). Consequently, she system's response to [f(nAr)Ar]é(t—nAr) will be [f(ndr)Ar]a(t—nAr), as lustrated in Fig. 2.34. These results can be conveniently displayed as input-output airs with an arrow directed from the input to the output as shown below. The left- aand side represents the input, and the right-hand side represents the corresponding system response: é(t) => a(t) 6(t—nAr) => A(e—ndr) [U(mAr)dr]o(e—ndr) => [s(nAr)Ar|alt— Ar) (227) input output2.4 System Response to External Input: The Zero-State Response ug t £0) Foss) — ® ar | aay 50 lo = o — % Smee) h(r- nae) one 0 nae ed © © UF (mde) Be} (r= mde) gycry F(mAt)h (t= nboyae lo nae = 0 nae = @ o 0 nar . 2.8 Finding the system response to an arbitrary input f(t).120 2 Time-Domain Analysis of Continuous-Time Systems This display shows the input-output pairs in Figs. 2.3b, c, and d, respectively. The last pair represents the system response to only one of the impulse components of f(t). The total response y(t) is obtained by summing all such components as depicted in Fig. 2.3e. Summing on both sides of the above display yields (with dr 0) Jim) D> f(nAr)6(t-ndr)ar = aim, DY Mndr)a(e—adr)ar or ‘The input fe) ‘The output v(t) ‘The left-hand side is the input f(t) represented as a sum of all the impulse compo- nents in a manner illustrated in Fig. 2.3, The right-hand side is the output y(t) represented as a sum of the output components as shown in Fig. 2.3e. Both the left-hand side and the right-hand side, by definition, are integrals given byt [sere t, as depicted in Fig. 2.5a, Therefore, the product J(x)h(t — r) = 0 everywhere except over the nonshaded interval 0 <7 < t shown in Fig. 2.5a (assuming ¢ > 0). Observe that if t is megative, /(r)h(t — r) = 0 for all + as shown in Fig. 2.5. Therefore, Eq. (2.37) reduces to2.4 System Response to External Input: The Zero-State Response 123 f(x =0 (er) =0 rz0 10 y= se) *n(e)= fos n(e-r)ar +20 (2.38) t<0 The lower limit of integration in Eq, (2.38) is taken as 0- to avoid the difficulty in integration that can atise if f(t) contains an impulse at the origin. In subsequent discussion, the lower limit will be shown as 0 with the understanding that it means 0”. This result shows that if f(t) and h(t) are both causal, the response y(t) is also causal Because of the convolution’s commutative property (Eq. (2.31)], we can also express Eq. (2.38) as {assuming causal f(t) and h(t)] ut) -[ Aiyie-r)dr 20 (2.39) I As in Eq. (2.38), this result assumes that both the input and the system are causal. Wi Example 2.4 For an LTIC system with the unit impulse response h(t) = response y(t) for the input ‘u(t), determine the $8) =eFule) (240) Here both f(#) and h(t) are causal (Fig. 2.6). Hence, we need only to perform the convolution’s integration over the range (0, t) [see Eq. (2.38)]. The system response is therefore given by v(t) 120 Because f(t} ‘u(t) and A(t) f= Remember that the integration is performed with respect to r (not t), and the region of integration is 0 <7 0, then 72 0andt~r> 0, so that u(r) = 1 and u(t—r) = 1; consequently wo [ie ult) and h(t= 7) = =) eo dr t20124 2 Time-Domain Analysis of Continuous-Time Systems @ o Fig. 2.6 Convolution of f(t) and h(t) in Example 2.4 Because this integration is with respect to r, we can pull e~** outside the integral, giving w(t) anf dr =e Met -1) #20 (2.41) ly Also, y(t) = 0 when t < 0 [sce Eq. (2.38)]. This result, along with Eq, (2.41), yields u(t) = (e* = e7*)u(t) (2.42) ‘The response is depicted in Fig. 2.6c. Ml A. Exercise B2.5 For an LTIG system with the impulse response h(t) = 6e~tu(t), determine the system re- sponse to the input: (a) 2u(t) and (b) 3e**u(t) Answer: (a) 12(1 ~e-*)u(t) (b) 9(e“* —e-*8)ult) og 4 Exercise B2.6 Repeat Exercise E2.5 if the input f(t) = e~*u(t). Answer: 6te“‘u(t) 7 The Convolution Table The task of convolution is considerably simplified by @ ready-made convolution table (Table 2.1). This table, which lists several pairs of signals and their resulting convolution, can conveniently determine y(t), a system response to an input f(t), without performing the tedious job of integration, For instance, we could have readily found the convolution in Example 2.4 using pair 4 (with 4) = —1 and Ag = ~2) to be (et e7?*)u(t). The following example demonstrates the utility of this table.