This article is within the scope of WikiProject Physics, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Physics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.PhysicsWikipedia:WikiProject PhysicsTemplate:WikiProject Physicsphysics
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Mathematics, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of mathematics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.MathematicsWikipedia:WikiProject MathematicsTemplate:WikiProject Mathematicsmathematics
If many sinusoids have the same phase and they are added together, they will add constructively. If, however, these same sinusoids have phases which change rapidly as the frequency changes, they will add destructively.
If the phases are unrelated, then the sinusoids add incoherently, not destructively. Destructive interference requires coherence, i.e. definite phase relationship. —Keenan Pepper18:44, 25 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The above wording may not be the best, but it is trying to capture the difference between constructive and destructive interference, respectively, of a set of sinusoids that are approximately in phase and a set whose phase slews rapidly as you sweep across the set. Incoherence requires a random element that is missing here.
To me it is not clear if the k in is the same k as the the k in the stationary phase approximation. Maybe we should either change the definition or the example?
80.101.82.58 (talk) 23:15, 1 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The whole article seems very muddled. I suggest a major rewrite. Shall we start by agreeing on some primary or secondary sources that we think exemplify the method? Billlion (talk) 17:57, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
The first mention of the functions f or g occurs in the first sentence of the section titled Formula, as follows:
"Letting denote the set of critical points of the function (i.e. points where ), under the assumption that is either compactly supported or has exponential decay, and that all critical points are nondegenerate (i.e. for ) we have the following asymptotic formula, as :
."
It is essential that when a function is referred to in Wikipedia, readers do not need to guess what the domain and codomain of the function are, or what kind of function it is (continuous, differentiable, continuously differentiable, etc.).