Dirac Delta Functions

by Dr. Colton, Physics 471 (last updated: 11 Jan 2024)

Definitions

1. Definition as limit. The Dirac delta function can be thought of as a rectangular pulse that grows
narrower and narrower while simultaneously growing larger and larger.
y

height 1/𝑏 (so total area is 1)

rect 𝑥, 𝑏 =
𝑥

width 𝑏

Limit as 𝑏 → very small:

infinitely high, infinitely
𝛿 𝑥 narrow

Note that the integral of the delta function is the area under the curve, and has been held constant at 1
throughout the limit process.
𝛿 𝑥 1

Shifting the origin. Just as a parabola can be shifted away from the origin by writing 𝑦 𝑥 𝑥
instead of 𝑦 𝑥 , any function can be shifted to the right by writing 𝑥 𝑥 in place of x (here 𝑥 is
positive).
y

𝛿 𝑥 𝑥

x
x0

Shifting the position of the peak doesn’t affect the total area if the integral is taken from  to , or if
the interval from 𝑎 to 𝑏 contains the peak.
𝛿 𝑥 𝑥 1

Dirac delta functions – pg 1

For that matter, since all of the area occurs right in one spot, one can write:

𝛿 𝑥 𝑥 1

as long as the interval from a to b contains the delta function peak at 𝑥 .

Disclaimer: Mathematicians may object that since the Dirac delta function is only defined in terms of a
limit, and/or in terms of how it behaves inside integrals, it is not actually a function but rather a
generalized function and/or a functional. While that is technically true, physicists tend to ignore such
issues and recognize that for all practical purposes the delta function can be thought of as a very large and
very narrow peak at the origin with an integrated area of 1, as I have described it.

2. Definition as derivative of step function. The step function, also called the “Heaviside step function” is
usually defined like this:1

H(x) = 0 for x < 0,

H(x) = 0.5 for x = 0
H(x) = 1 for x > 0

It’s a function whose only feature is a step up from 0 to 1, at the origin:

𝐻

1 Heaviside step
function
𝑥

What’s the derivative of this function? Well, the slope is zero for 𝑥 0 and the slope is zero for 𝑥 0.
What about right at the origin? The slope is infinite! So the derivative of this function is a function which
is zero everywhere except at the origin, where it’s infinite. Also, the integral of that derivative function
from  to  will be 𝐻  𝐻  , which is 1! An infinitely narrow, infinitely tall peak at the origin
whose integral is 1? That’s the Dirac delta function! Thus 𝛿 𝑥 can also be defined as the derivative of
the Heaviside step function.

3. Definition as Fourier transform. The Fourier transform of a function gives you the frequency
components of the function. What do you get when take the Fourier transform of a pure sine or cosine
wave oscillating at 𝜔 ? There is only one frequency component, so the Fourier transform must be a
single, very large peak right at 𝜔 . A delta function!2

4. Definition as density. What’s a function which represents the density of a 1 kg point mass located at the
origin? Well, it’s a function that must be zero everywhere except at the origin—and it must be infinitely

1
This is also sometimes called the “theta function” or “Heaviside theta function” and the symbol 𝛩 𝑥 is often used
for the function (𝛩 = capital theta).
2
More technically, 𝐹𝑇 cos 𝜔 𝑡 has two real delta function peaks, one at 𝜔 and one at –𝜔 , and 𝐹𝑇 sin 𝜔 𝑡 has
two imaginary peaks, an upward one at 𝜔 and a downward one at 𝜔 .

Dirac delta functions – pg 2

large at the origin because for a mass that truly occupies only a single point, the mass per volume is
infinite. How about its integral? The volume integral of the density must give you the mass, which is
1 kg. A function that is zero everywhere except infinite at the origin, and has an integral equal to 1? It’s
the Dirac delta function again!

More precisely, that last example would be a three-dimensional analog to the regular delta function 𝛿 𝑥 ,
because the density must be integrated over three dimensions in order to give the mass. This is typically
written 𝛿 𝐫 or as 𝛿 𝐫 , and is the product of three one-dimensional delta functions:

𝛿 𝐫 𝛿 𝑥 𝛿 𝑦 𝛿 𝑧

For a delta function located at 𝐫𝟎 𝑥 ,𝑦 ,𝑧 instead of at the origin, we have:

𝛿 𝐫 𝐫𝟎 𝛿 𝑥 𝑥 𝛿 𝑦 𝑦 𝛿 𝑧 𝑧

Properties

1. Integral. One of the most important properties of the delta function has already been mentioned: it
integrates to 1.

2. Sifting property. When a delta function 𝛿 𝑥 – 𝑥 multiplies another function 𝑓 𝑥 , the product must
be zero everywhere except at the location of the infinite peak, 𝑥 . At that location the product is infinite
like the delta function, but it must be a “larger” or “smaller” infinity, if those terms make sense to use,
depending on whether the value of 𝑓 𝑥 at that point is larger or smaller than 1. In other words, the area
of the product function is not just 1 anymore, it is 1 times the value of 𝑓 𝑥 at the infinite peak 𝑥 𝑥 .
This is called the “sifting property” of the delta function:

𝛿 𝑥 𝑥 𝑓 𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑓 𝑥

3. Symmetry. A few other properties can be readily seen from the definition of the delta function:

𝛿 𝑥 𝛿 –𝑥 𝛿 𝑥 behaves as if it were an even function

𝛿 𝑥– 𝑥 𝛿 – 𝑥– 𝑥 𝛿 𝑥 – 𝑥 is symmetric about 𝑥 𝑥

4. Linear systems. If a physical system has linear responses and if its response to delta functions
(“impulses”) is known, then the output of this system can be determined for almost any input, no matter
how complex. This rather amazing property of linear systems is a result of the following: almost any
arbitrary function can be decomposed into (or “sampled by”) a linear combination of delta functions, each
weighted appropriately, and each of which produces its own impulse response. Thus, by application of the
superposition principle, the overall response to an arbitrary input can be found by adding up all of the
impulse responses of the sampled values of the function. This is a complicated paragraph, so give it some
thought.

Fourier Transforms

1. FT of a single delta function. The Fourier transform of a single delta function in time can be obtained
using the sifting property and the definition of the F.T.:

Dirac delta functions – pg 3

 1
𝐹𝑇 𝛿 𝑡 𝛿 𝑡 𝑒 𝑑𝑡
√2𝜋
1
𝑒
√2𝜋
1
√2𝜋

Similarly, the Fourier transform of 𝛿 𝑡 𝑡 is:

1
𝐹𝑇 𝛿 𝑡 𝑡 𝛿 𝑡 𝑡 𝑒 𝑑𝑡
√2𝜋
1
𝑒
√2𝜋
1
𝑒
√2𝜋

The Fourier transform of 𝛿 𝑡 𝑡 , which by definition is a function of ω, has a constant amplitude but a
phase that varies linearly with .

Another interesting way to define the delta function can be obtained by doing the reverse Fourier
transform and setting it equal to the original delta function:

1
𝛿 𝑡 𝑡 𝐹𝑇 𝑒
√2𝜋
1 1
𝑒 𝑒 𝑑𝜔
√2𝜋 √2𝜋
1
𝑒 𝑑𝜔 yet another way the Dirac
2𝜋 delta function can be defined

Note: the negative sign in the exponent is optional for this definition, as can be seen by substituting 𝜔
𝜔; the limits get reversed but a negative sign gets added since 𝑑𝜔 𝑑𝜔, so the integral
𝑒 𝑑𝜔 is equal to the integral given in the equation above.

2. FT of two delta functions. As another short example, let’s calculate the (spatial) Fourier transform of
two delta functions centered on the origin, separated by a distance 𝑑. One is at 𝑥 𝑑/2 and the other is
at 𝑥 𝑑/2, therefore

1 𝑑 𝑑
𝐹𝑇 two deltas 𝛿 𝑥 𝛿 𝑥 𝑒 𝑑𝑥
√2𝜋 2 2
1
𝑒 𝑒
√2𝜋
1 𝑘𝑑
2 cos
√2𝜋 2
𝑘𝑑
2/𝜋 cos
2

Dirac delta functions – pg 4

3. FT of a finite Dirac comb. An infinite number of equally spaced delta functions is called a Dirac comb.
A finite comb function with a delta function at the origin, N delta functions to the left of the origin, and N
delta functions to the right of the origin, has 2N + 1 total delta functions and can be written as:

comb 𝑥 𝛿 𝑥 𝑥

where 𝑥 𝑗𝑑, with 𝑑 being the spacing between delta functions.

f

… … Finite comb
x function
d

As is mentioned in the Wikipedia article, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirac_comb, one potential use for

the comb function is as a sampling function (see “Linear systems,” above).

The Fourier transform of the comb function is:

1
𝐹𝑇 comb 𝑥 𝛿 𝑥 𝑥 𝑒 𝑑𝑥
√2𝜋
1
𝑒
√2𝜋

which, after summing the finite series, doing some algebra, and putting things in terms of the comb
spacing 𝑑 and the total number of delta functions 𝑁 2𝑁 1, reduces to:

𝑁 𝑘𝑑
1 sin 2
𝐹𝑇 comb 𝑥
√2𝜋 𝑘𝑑
sin
2

That is a periodic function made up of large primary peaks surrounded by secondary peaks that decrease
in amplitude as you move away from the primary peak.

Dirac delta functions – pg 5

 𝐹𝑇 comb 𝑥 plotted here as
a function of 𝑘, for 𝑁 21
and 𝑑 1.

Notice that the function of 𝑘 is periodic and repeats every 2𝜋/𝑑.

As can be found from L’Hospital’s Rule, the amplitude of the primary peak depends on 𝑁 :

1
𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑁
√2𝜋

The position of the first zero (a measure of the width of the primary peak) is given by

2𝜋
𝑘
𝑁 𝑑

4. FT of an infinite Dirac comb function: Using the previous two equations, one can see that in the limit
as Ntot → , the large peaks (like the ones at –2, 0, and 2) get infinitely tall and infinitely narrow. They
are delta functions! Thus, the Fourier transform of an infinite comb function in 𝑥 is an infinite comb
function in 𝑘.

Dirac delta functions – pg 6