Relations between fractional operations and time-frequency distributions, and their applications

The fractional Fourier transform (FRFT) is a useful tool for signal processing. It is the generalization of the Fourier transform. Many fractional operations, such as fractional convolution, fractional correlation, and the fractional Hilbert transform, are defined from it. In fact, the FRFT can be further generalized into the linear canonical transform (LCT), and we can also use the LCT to define several canonical operations. In this paper, we will discuss the relations between the operations described above and some important time–frequency distributions (TFDs), such as the Wigner distribution function (WDF), the ambiguity function (AF), the signal correlation function, and the spectrum correlation function. First, we systematically review the previous works in brief. Then, some new relations are derived and listed in tables. Then, we use these relations to analyze the applications of the FRFT/LCT on the fractional/canonical filter design, fractional/canonical Hilbert transform, beam shaping, and then we analyze the phase-amplitude problems of the FRFT/LCT. For phase-amplitude problems, we find, as with the original Fourier transform, that in most cases, the phase is more important than the amplitude for the FRFT/LCT. We also use the WDF to explain why fractional/canonical convolution can be used for space-variant pattern recognition.