To do so, astronomers resort to Fourier analysis, a mathematical technique that allows them to break a complex curve into a set of simple ones called sine waves.

ECONOMIST: Extrasolar planets

Swanson's bears a certain resemblance to the Fourier heat equation.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The new single-laser fiber-optic speed record was set using a technique called fast Fourier transform that pulses light at an incredibly high rate with data encoded in 325 distinct colors across the spectrum.

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A, only time (and Fourier) will tell.

ECONOMIST: Extrasolar planets

Optical correlators, meanwhile, work by encoding images on to a beam of light and, using a special lens, transforming them into their Fourier components building-blocks that encode the thickness and direction of lines in the image, but not their position.

ECONOMIST: Optical recognition