Multiplicity of fractional Fourier transforms and their relationships

The multiplicity of the fractional Fourier transform (FRT), which is intrinsic in any fractional operator, has been claimed by several authors, but never systematically developed. The paper starts with a general FRT definition, based on eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the ordinary Fourier transform, which allows us to generate all possible definitions. The multiplicity is due to different choices of both the eigenfunction and the eigenvalue classes. A main result, obtained by a generalized form of the sampling theorem, gives explicit relationships between the different FRT’s.