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The rectangle function is a function that is 0 outside the interval and unity inside it. It is also called the gate function, pulse function, or window function, and is defined by

The left figure above plots the function as defined, while the right figure shows how it would appear if traced on an oscilloscope. The generalized function has height , center , and full-width .

As noted by Bracewell (1965, p. 53), "It is almost never important to specify the values at , that is at the points of discontinuity. Likewise, it is not necessary or desirable to emphasize the values in graphs; it is preferable to show graphs which are reminiscent of high-quality oscillograms (which, of course, would never show extra brightening halfway up the discontinuity)."

The piecewise version of the rectangle function is implemented in the Wolfram Language as UnitBox[x] (which takes the value 1 at ), while the generalized function version is implemented as HeavisidePi[x] (which remains unevalutaed at ).

Identities satisfied by the rectangle function include

where is the Heaviside step function. The Fourier transform of the rectangle function is given by

where is the sinc function.

See also

Absolute Value, Boxcar Function, Fourier Transform--Rectangle Function, Heaviside Step Function, Ramp Function, Sign, Square Wave, Triangle Function, Uniform Distribution

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References

Bracewell, R. "Rectangle Function of Unit Height and Base, ." In The Fourier Transform and Its Applications. New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 52-53, 1965.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Rectangle Function

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Rectangle Function." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/RectangleFunction.html

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