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19. Series Representation of Stochastic Processes

Given information about a stochastic process X(t) in

can this continuous information be represented in terms of a countable set of random variables whose relative importance decrease under some arrangement?

To appreciate this question it is best to start with the notion of a Mean-Square periodic process. A stochastic process X(t) is said to be mean square (M.S) periodic, if for some T > 0

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i.e

Suppose X(t) is a W.S.S process. Then

​

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Proof: suppose X(t) is M.S. periodic. Then

(19-1)

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But from Schwarz’ inequality

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Thus the left side equals

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or

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i.e.,

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i.e., X(t) is mean square periodic.

(19-2)

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(19-3)

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Thus if X(t) is mean square periodic, then is periodic and let

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represent its Fourier series expansion. Here

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In a similar manner define

​

​

Notice that are random variables, and

(19-5)

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(19-6)

(19-4)

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i.e., form a sequence of uncorrelated random variables, and, further, consider the partial sum

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We shall show that in the mean square sense as

i.e.,

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Proof:

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​

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​

But

(19-7)

(19-8)

(19-9)

(19-10)

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(19-12)

Similarly

​

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i.e.,

(19-13)

(19-14)

and

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Thus mean square periodic processes can be represented in the form

of a series as in (19-14). The stochastic information is contained in the

random variables Further these random variables are uncorrelated and their variances

This follows by noticing that from (19-14)

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​

Thus if the power P of the stochastic process is finite, then the positive sequence converges, and hence This implies that the random variables in (19-14) are of relatively less importance as and a finite approximation of the series in

(19-14) is indeed meaningful.

The following natural question then arises: What about a general stochastic process, that is not mean square periodic? Can it be represented in a similar series fashion as in (19-14), if not in the whole interval say in a finite support

​

Suppose that it is indeed possible to do so for any arbitrary process

X(t) in terms of a certain sequence of orthonormal functions.

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i.e.,

​

where

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and in the mean square sense

​

Further, as before, we would like the ck s to be uncorrelated random

variables. If that should be the case, then we must have

​

Now

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(19-15)

(19-16)

(19-17)

(19-18)

(19-19)

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and

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Substituting (19-19) and (19-20) into (19-18), we get

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Since (19-21) should be true for every we must have

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or

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i.e., the desired uncorrelated condition in (19-18) gets translated into the

integral equation in (19-22) and it is known as the Karhunen-Loeve or

K-L. integral equation. The functions are not arbitrary

and they must be obtained by solving the integral equation in (19-22).

They are known as the eigenvectors of the autocorrelation

(19-20)

(19-21)

(19-22)

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function of Similarly the set represent the eigenvalues

of the autocorrelation function. From (19-18), the eigenvalues

represent the variances of the uncorrelated random variables

This also follows from Mercer’s theorem which allows the

representation

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where

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Here and are known as the eigenfunctions

and eigenvalues of A direct substitution and

simplification of (19-23) into (19-22) shows that

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Returning back to (19-15), once again the partial sum

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(19-23)

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(19-24)

(19-25)

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in the mean square sense. To see this, consider

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We have

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Also

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Similarly

(19-26)

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(19-27)

(19-28)

(19-29)

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and

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Hence (19-26) simplifies into

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i.e.,

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where the random variables are uncorrelated and faithfully

represent the random process X(t) in provided

satisfy the K-L. integral equation.

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Example 19.1: If X(t) is a w.s.s white noise process, determine the

sets in (19-22).

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Solution: Here

​

(19-30)

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(19-31)

(19-32)

(19-33)

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and

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can be arbitrary so long as they are orthonormal as in (19-17)

and Then the power of the process

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and in that sense white noise processes are unrealizable. However, if

the received waveform is given by

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and n(t) is a w.s.s white noise process, then since any set of

orthonormal functions is sufficient for the white noise process

representation, they can be chosen solely by considering the other

signal s(t). Thus, in (19-35)

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(19-34)

(19-35)

(19-36)

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and if

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Then it follows that

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Notice that the eigenvalues of get incremented by q.

Example19.2: X(t) is a Wiener process with

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In that case Eq. (19-22) simplifies to

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and using (19-39) this simplifies to

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(19-39)

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(19-37)

(19-38)

(19-40)

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Derivative with respect to t1 gives [see Eqs. (8-5)-(8-6), Lecture 8]

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or

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Once again, taking derivative with respect to t1, we obtain

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or

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and its solution is given by

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But from (19-40)

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(19-41)

(19-42)

(19-43)

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(19-45)

(19-47)

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and from (19-41)

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This gives

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and using (19-44) we obtain

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Also

(19-44)

(19-46)

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​

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Further, orthonormalization gives

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Hence

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with as in (19-47) and as in (19-16),

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(19-48)

(19-49)

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is the desired series representation.

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Example 19.3: Given

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find the orthonormal functions for the series representation of the

underlying stochastic process X(t) in 0 < t < T.

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Solution: We need to solve the equation

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Notice that (19-51) can be rewritten as,

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Differentiating (19-52) once with respect to t1, we obtain

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(19-50)

(19-51)

(19-52)

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Differentiating (19-53) again with respect to t1, we get

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or

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(19-53)

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or

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or

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Eq.(19-54) represents a second order differential equation. The solution

for depends on the value of the constant on the

right side. We shall show that solutions exist in this case only if

or

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In that case

Let

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and (19-54) simplifies to

(19-54)

(19-55)

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(19-56)

(19-57)

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General solution of (19-57) is given by

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From (19-52)

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and

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Similarly from (19-53)

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and

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Using (19-58) in (19-61) gives

(19-58)

(19-59)

(19-60)

(19-61)

(19-62)

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or

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and using (19-58) in (19-62), we have

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or

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Thus are obtained as the solution of the transcendental equation

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(19-63)

(19-64)

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which simplifies to

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In terms of from (19-56) we get

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Thus the eigenvalues are obtained as the solution of the transcendental

equation (19-65). (see Fig 19.1). For each such the

corresponding eigenvector is given by (19-58). Thus

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since from (19-65)

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and cn is a suitable normalization constant.

(19-66)

(19-68)

(19-67)

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(19-65)

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Fig 19.1 Solution for Eq.(19-65).

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Karhunen – Loeve Expansion for Rational Spectra

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[The following exposition is based on Prof. Youla’s classic paper “The

solution of a Homogeneous Wiener-Hopf Integral Equation occurring

in the expansion of Second-order Stationary Random Functions,” IRE

Trans. on Information Theory, vol. 9, 1957, pp 187-193. Youla is

tough. Here is a friendlier version. Even this may be skipped on a first

reading. (Youla can be made only so much friendly.)]

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Let X(t) represent a w.s.s zero mean real stochastic process with

autocorrelation function so that its power spectrum

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is nonnegative and an even function. If is rational, then the

process X(t) is said to be rational as well. rational and even

implies

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(19-69)

(19-70)

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The total power of the process is given by

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and for P to be finite, we must have

  1. The degree of the denominator polynomial

must exceed the degree of the numerator polynomial

by at least two,

and

  1. must not have any zeros on the real-frequency

axis.

The s-plane extension of is given by

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Thus

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and the Laplace inverse transform of is given by

(19-71)

(19-72)

(19-73)

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​

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Let represent the roots of D(– s2) . Then

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Let D+(s) and D–(s) represent the left half plane (LHP) and the right half

plane (RHP) products of these roots respectively. Thus

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where

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This gives

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Notice that has poles only on the LHP and its inverse (for all t > 0)

converges only if the strip of convergence is to the right

(19-74)

(19-75)

(19-76)

(19-77)

(19-78)

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of all its poles. Similarly

C2(s) /D–(s) has poles only on

the RHP and its inverse will

converge only if the strip is

to the left of all those poles. In

that case, the inverse exists for

t < 0. In the case of from

(19-78) its transform N(s2) /D(–s2)

is defined only for (see Fig 19.2). In particular,

for from the above discussion it follows that is given

by the inverse transform of C1(s) /D+(s). We need the solution to the

integral equation

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that is valid only for 0 < t < T. (Notice that in (19-79) is the

reciprocal of the eigenvalues in (19-22)). On the other hand, the right

side (19-79) can be defined for every t. Thus, let

​

(19-79)

(19-80)

Fig 19.2

strip of convergence

for

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and to confirm with the same limits, define

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This gives

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and let

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Clearly

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and for t > T

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since RXX(t) is a sum of exponentials Hence it

follows that for t > T, the function f (t) must be a sum of exponentials

Similarly for t < 0

(19-81)

(19-82)

(19-83)

(19-84)

(19-85)

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and hence f (t) must be a sum of exponentials

Thus the overall Laplace transform of f (t) has the form

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where P(s) and Q(s) are polynomials of degree n – 1 at most. Also from

(19-83), the bilateral Laplace transform of f (t) is given by

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Equating (19-86) and (19-87) and simplifying, Youla obtains the key

identity

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Youla argues as follows: The function is an entire

function of s, and hence it is free of poles on the entire

(19-86)

(19-87)

(19-88)

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finite s-plane However, the denominator on the right

side of (19-88) is a polynomial and its roots contribute to poles of

Hence all such poles must be cancelled by the numerator. As a result

the numerator of in (19-88) must possess exactly the same set of

zeros as its denominator to the respective order at least.

Let be the (distinct) zeros of the

denominator polynomial Here we assume that

is an eigenvalue for which all are distinct. We have

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These also represent the zeros of the numerator polynomial

Hence

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and

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which simplifies into

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From (19-90) and (19-92) we get

(19-89)

(19-90)

(19-91)

(19-92)

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i.e., the polynomial

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which is at most of degree n – 1 in s2 vanishes at

(for n distinct values of s2). Hence

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or

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Using the linear relationship among the coefficients of P(s) and Q(s)

in (19-90)-(19-91) it follows that

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are the only solutions that are consistent with each of those equations,

and together we obtain

(19-93)

(19-94)

(19-95)

(19-96)

(19-97)

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​

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as the only solution satisfying both (19-90) and (19-91). Let

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In that case (19-90)-(19-91) simplify to (use (19-98))

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where

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For a nontrivial solution to exist for in (19-100), we

must have

(19-98)

(19-99)

(19-100)

(19-101)

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​

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The two determinant conditions in (19-102) must be solved together to

obtain the eigenvalues that are implicitly contained in the

and (Easily said than done!).

To further simplify (19-102), one may express ak in (19-101) as

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so that

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(19-102)

(19-104)

(19-103)

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Let

​

and substituting these known coefficients into (19-104) and simplifying

we get

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and in terms of in (19-102) simplifies to

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if n is even (if n is odd the last column in (19-107) is simply

Similarly in (19-102) can be obtained by

replacing with in (19-107).

(19-105)

(19-106)

(19-107)

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To summarize determine the roots with that satisfy

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in terms of and for every such determine using (19-106).

Finally using these and in (19-107) and its companion

equation , the eigenvalues are determined. Once are

obtained, can be solved using (19-100), and using that can

be obtained from (19-88).

Thus

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and

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Since is an entire function in (19-110), the inverse Laplace

transform in (19-109) can be performed through any strip of

convergence in the s-plane, and in particular if we use the strip

(19-108)

(19-109)

(19-110)

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then the two inverses

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obtained from (19-109) will be causal. As a result

​

will be nonzero only for t > T and using this in (19-109)-(19-110) we

conclude that for 0 < t < T has contributions only from the first

term in (19-111). Together with (19-81), finally we obtain the desired

eigenfunctions to be

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that are orthogonal by design. Notice that in general (19-112)

corresponds to a sum of modulated exponentials.

(19-111)

(19-112)

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Next, we shall illustrate this procedure through some examples. First,

we shall re-do Example 19.3 using the method described above.

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Example 19.4: Given we have

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This gives and P(s), Q(s) are constants

here. Moreover since n = 1, (19-102) reduces to

and from (19-101), satisfies

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or is the solution of the s-plane equation

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But |esT| >1 on the RHP, whereas on the RHP. Similarly

|esT| <1 on the LHP, whereas on the LHP.

(19-113)

(19-114)

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Thus in (19-114) the solution s must be purely imaginary, and hence

in (19-113) is purely imaginary. Thus with in (19-114)

we get

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or

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which agrees with the transcendental equation (19-65). Further from

(19-108), the satisfy

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or

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Notice that the in (19-66) is the inverse of (19-116) because as

noted earlier in (19-79) is the inverse of that in (19-22).

(19-116)

(19-115)

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Finally from (19-112)

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which agrees with the solution obtained in (19-67). We conclude this

section with a less trivial example.

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Example 19.5

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In this case

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This gives With n = 2,

(19-107) and its companion determinant reduce to

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(19-117)

(19-118)

(19-119)

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or

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From (19-106)

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Finally can be parametrically expressed in terms of

using (19-108) and it simplifies to

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This gives

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and

(19-120)

(19-121)

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and

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and substituting these into (19-120)-(19-121) the corresponding

transcendental equation for can be obtained. Similarly the

eigenfunctions can be obtained from (19-112).