An exact solution to the Fourier Transform of band-limited periodic functions with nonequispaced data and application to non-periodic functions

Abstract

The need to Fourier transform data sets with irregular sampling is shared by various domains of science. This is the case for example in astronomy or sismology. Iterative methods have been developed that allow to reach approximate solutions. Here an exact solution to the problem for band-limited periodic signals is presented. The exact spectrum can be deduced from the spectrum of the non-equispaced data through the inversion of a Toeplitz matrix. The result applies to data of any dimension. This method also provides an excellent approximation for non-periodic band-limit signals. The method allows to reach very high dynamic ranges ($10^{13}$ with double-float precision) which depend on the regularity of the samples.