178 C H A P T E R 3: The Laplace Transform
u = sym(’Heaviside(t)’)
U=laplace(u)
% Delta function
d = sym(’Dirac(t)’)
D = laplace(d)
giving
u = Heaviside(t)
U = 1/s
d = Dirac(t)si
D = 1
whereUandDstand for the Laplace transforms ofuandd. The naming ofu(t)andδ(t)as Heaviside
and Dirac functions is used in MATLAB.^3
The pulsep(t)=u(t)−u(t− 1 )is a finite support signal and so its ROC is the wholes-plane. Its
Laplace transform is
P(s)=L[u(t+ 1 )−u(t− 1 )]=
∫^1
− 1
e−stdt=
−e−st
s
|^1 t=− 1 =
1
s
[es−e−s]=
es
s
[1−e−^2 s]
which as shown before has an infinite number of zeros, and the one at the origin cancels the pole,
so that
P(s)=
∏∞
k=−∞,k6= 0
(s−jπk)
n
nExample 3.3
Let us find and use the Laplace transform ofej(^0 t+θ)u(t)to obtain the Laplace transform ofx(t)=
cos( 0 t+θ)u(t). Consider the special cases forθ=0 andθ=−π/2. Determine the ROCs. Use
MATLAB to plot the signals and the corresponding poles/zeros when 0 =2 andθ=0 andπ/4.
Solution
The Laplace transform of the complex causal signalej(^0 t+θ)u(t)is found to be
L[ej(^0 t+θ)u(t)]=
∫∞
0
ej(^0 t+θ)e−stdt=ejθ
∫∞
0
e−(s−j^0 )tdt
(^3) Oliver Heaviside (1850–1925) was an English electrical engineer who adapted the Laplace transform to the solution of differential
equations (the so-called operational calculus), while Paul Dirac (1902–1984) was also an English electrical engineer, better known for
his work in physics.