INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE

EEC-104
Signals and Systems
Ramanuja Panigrahi
Module-1

• Size of a signal,
• Classification of signals,
• Signal operations,
• Elementary signals /Signal models,
• Even and odd functions,
• Systems,
• Classification of systems,
• Properties of systems,
• System model.

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Systems

• A set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network; a complex whole.
• System can be viewed as a process in which input signals are transformed by the system or cause the system to
respond in some way, resulting in other signals as outputs.

For example,

𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 − 1 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 − 2 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 − 3

Mass
x 𝑡 y 𝑡 x 𝑡 y 𝑡

A system may consist of physical components (hardware realization) or an

algorithm that computes the output signal from the input signal (software
realization).
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Systems

• System can be conveniently illustrated by a “black box” with one set of accessible
terminals where the input variables x1(t), x2(t), . . . , xj(t) are applied and another set of
accessible terminals where the output variables y1(t), y2(t), . . . , yk(t) are observed.

x1(t), x2(t), . . . , xj(t) y1(t), y2(t), . . . , yk(t)

• The study of systems consists of three major areas: modeling, analysis, and design

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Connection of Systems

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Connection of Systems
• Feedback Systems: the output of System 1 is the input to System 2, while the output of System 2 is fed back
and added to the external input to produce the actual input to System 1.

+ S1

S2

For example, a cruise control system on an automobile senses the vehicle's velocity and adjusts the fuel flow in order to
keep the speed at the desired level.
Similarly, a digitally controlled aircraft is most naturally thought of as a feedback system in which differences between
actual and desired speed, heading, or altitude are fed back through the autopilot in order to correct these discrepancies.

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Classification of Systems

1. Continuous time system and Discrete time system

Systems whose inputs and outputs are continuous- Systems whose inputs and outputs are discrete-
time signals are continuous-time systems time signals are discrete-time systems.

A system whose input and output

signals are analog is an analog system.

A system whose input and output

signals are digital is a digital system

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Classification of Systems

2. Time Invariant and time-varying system

Systems whose parameters do not change with time are time-invariant (also constant-parameter)
systems. For such a system, if the input is delayed by T seconds, the output is the same as before but
delayed by T

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Time Invariant System

In other words, the system S and the time delay

commute if the system S is time invariant.

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3. Systems with Memory and without Memory
A system is said to be memoryless if the output at any time depends on only the input at that same time.
Otherwise, the system is said to have memory.

An example of a memoryless system is a resistor R with the input x(t) taken as the current and the voltage taken as
the output y(t).
The input-output relationship (Ohm’s law) of a resistor is

𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑅𝑥 𝑡

An example of a system with memory is a capacitor C with the current as the input x(t) and the voltage as the
output y(t); then

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Classification of Systems

4. Causal and Non-causal

A causal (also known as a physical or non-anticipative) system is one for which the output at any instant t0
depends only on the value of the input x(t) for t ≤ t0.

In other words, the value of the output at the present instant depends only on the past and present values of the
input x(t), not on its future values.

A system that violates the condition of causality is called a noncausal (or anticipative) system

To put it simply, in a causal system the output cannot start before the input is applied. If the response starts before
the input, it means that the system knows the input in the future and acts on this knowledge before the input is
applied. A system that violates the condition of causality is called a noncausal (or anticipative) system.

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Why Study Noncausal Systems ?
• First, noncausal systems are realizable when the independent variable is other than “time” (e.g., space).

For example, an electric charge of density q(x) is placed along the x-axis for x ≥ 0. This charge density produces an
electric field E(x) that is present at every point on the x-axis from x = −∞ to ∞. In this case, the input [i.e., the charge
density q(x)] starts at x = 0, but its output [the electric field E(x)] begins before x = 0. Clearly, this space-charge system
is noncausal.
• Moreover, even for temporal systems, such as those used for signal processing, the study of noncausal systems is
important. In such systems, we may have all input data prerecorded.
E.g.: recorded audio
Non-causal systems are generally realized with time delay.

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Classification of Systems

• Concept of Linearity
A system whose output is proportional to its input is an example of a linear system.

But linearity implies more than this:

A linear system, in continuous time or discrete time, is a system that possesses the important property of
superposition: If an input consists of the weighted sum of several signals, then the output is the
superposition-that is, the weighted sum of the responses of the system to each of those signals.

This property is nothing but the combination of two properties :

1. Additivity
2. Homogeneity

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• Additivity
additivity property: if several inputs are acting on a system, then the total effect on the system due to all these inputs can
be determined by considering one input at a time while assuming all the other inputs to be zero. The total effect is then
the sum of all the component effects.

For a linear system, if an input x1 acting alone has an output y1 , and if another input x2 , also acting alone, has an
effect y2 , then, with both inputs acting on the system, the total output will be y1 + y2 .

x1(t) y1(t) x2(t) y2(t) x1(t)+x2(t) y1(t)+y2(t)

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• Homogeneity
Scaling property: for arbitrary real or imaginary number k, if an input is increased k-fold, the output also
increases k-fold.

x1(t) y1(t) K × x1(t) K × y1(t)

linearity implies two properties: homogeneity (scaling) and additivity. Both these properties can be combined into one
property (superposition), which is expressed as follows:

x1(t) y1(t) x2(t) y2(t) Ax1(t)+Bx2(t) Ay1(t)+By2(t)

A and B are constants

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 continuous time: ax1(t) + bx2(t)  ay1(t) + by2(t),
discrete time: ax1[n] + bx2[n]  ay1 [n] + by2[n]

• There is another useful way to view the linearity condition described:

the response of a linear system is unchanged whether the operations of summing and scaling precede the
system (sum and scale act on inputs) or follow the system (sum and scale act on outputs). Thus, linearity
implies commutability between a system and the operations of summing and scaling.

• It may appear that additivity implies homogeneity. Unfortunately, homogeneity does not always follow
from additivity.

• Note that a consequence of the homogeneity (or scaling) of linear systems is that a zero input yields a
zero output. This is another important property of linear systems.

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Consider a system S whose input x(t) and output y(t) are related by
𝑦(𝑡) = 𝑡𝑥(𝑡)
Determine whether S is linear or not.

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Consider a system S whose input x[n]and output y[n]are related by
𝑦 𝑛 = 2𝑥 𝑛 + 3
Determine whether S is linear or not.

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Incrementally linear system

the output of this system can be represented as the sum of the output of a linear system and another signal equal
to the zero-input response of the system

For
𝑦 𝑛 = 2𝑥 𝑛 + 3,
The linear system is
𝑥 𝑛 = 2𝑥 𝑛 ,
and the zero-input response is
𝑌 𝑛 = 3.
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Consider a system S whose input x(t) and output y(t) are related by
𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑥 𝑡
Determine whether S is linear or not.

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Linearity of Constant-Coefficient Linear Differential Equations

A system described by a differential equation of the form

is a linear system. The coefficients ai and bi in this equation can be constants or functions of time.

In other words, when the variables and their derivatives are only multiplied by constants or functions of
time, then the equation is linear.

The variables and their derivatives must always appear as a simple first power.

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Stable and Unstable System
Stability is one important system property.
Informally, a stable system is one in which small inputs lead to responses that do not diverge.

Systems can be classified as stable or unstable systems.

Stability can be internal or external.

If every bounded input applied at the input terminal results in a bounded output, the system is said to be
stable externally or BIBO stability.

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Invertible and non-invertible Systems

• A system S performs certain operation(s) on input signal(s).

• If we can obtain the input x(t) back from the corresponding output y(t) by some
operation, the system S is said to be invertible.
• When several different inputs result in the same output (as in a rectifier), it is impossible
to obtain the input from the output, and the system is noninvertible.
• Therefore, for an invertible system, it is essential that every input have a unique output so
that there is a one-to-one mapping between an input and the corresponding output.
• The system that achieves the inverse operation [of obtaining x(t) from y(t)] is the inverse
system for S. For instance, if S is an ideal integrator, then its inverse system is an ideal
differentiator.

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• Consider a DT system described as y[n + 1] = x[n + 1]x[n]. Determine whether the system is
(a) linear, (b) time-invariant, (c) causal, (d) memoryless,(e) invertible and (f) BIBO-stable

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System Model : Input-output Description
A system description in terms of the measurements at the input and output terminals is called the input–
output description.
The first step in analyzing any system is the construction of a system model, which is a mathematical expression or a
rule that satisfactorily approximates the dynamical behavior of the system

Input–Output Equation of a Series RLC Circuit

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Internal and external Models
The input–output relationship of a system is an external description of that system.

The state-space description of a linear system is an internal description of a system.

In this approach, we identify certain key variables, called the state variables, of the system.
These variables have the property that every possible signal in the system can be expressed as a linear combination
of these state variables

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Thanks

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