Multiplicative filtering in the fractional Fourier domain

In this article, we investigate the multiplicative filtering in the fractional Fourier transform (FRFT) domain based on the generalized convolution theorem which states that the convolution of two signals in time domain results in simple multiplication of their FRFTs in the FRFT domain. In order to efficiently implement multiplicative filtering, we express the generalized convolution structure by the conventional convolution operation. Utilizing the generalized convolution structure, we convert the multiplicative filtering in the FRFT domain easily to the time domain. Based on the model of multiplicative filtering in the FRFT domain, a practical method is proposed to achieve the multiplicative filtering through convolution in the time domain. This method can be realized by classical Fast Fourier transform (FFT) and has the same capability compared with the method achieved in the FRFT domain. As convolution can be performed by FFT, this method is more useful from practical engineering perspective.