Connection between Fourier transform and Taylor series

Assume that the Taylor expansion $f(x)=\sum_{k=0}^\infty a_k x^k$ is convergent for some $|x|>1$. Then $f$ can be extended in a natural way into the complex domain by writing $f(z)=\sum_{k=0}^\infty a_k z^k$ with $z$ complex and $|z|≤1$. So we may look at $f$ on the unit circle $|z|=1$. Consider $f$ as a function of the polar angle $\phi$ there, i.e., look at the function $F(\phi):=f(e^{i\phi})$. This function $F$ is $2\pi$-periodic, and its Fourier expansion is nothing else but $F(\phi)=\sum_{k=0}^\infty a_k e^{ik\phi}$ where the $a_k$ are the Taylor coefficients of the "real" function $x\mapsto f(x)$ we started with.


A holomorphic function in an annulus containing the unit circle has a Laurent series about zero which generalizes the Taylor series of a holomorphic function in a neighborhood of zero. When restricted to the unit circle, this Laurent series gives a Fourier series of the corresponding periodic function. (This explains the connection between the Cauchy integral formula and the integral defining the coefficients of a Fourier series.)

But it's worth mentioning that the Fourier transform is much more general than this and applies in a broad range of contexts. I don't know that there's a short, simple answer to this question.

Edit: I guess it's also worth talking about intuition. One intuition for the Taylor series of a function $f(x)$ at at a point is that its coefficients describe the displacement, velocity, acceleration, jerk, and so forth of a particle which is at location $f(t)$ at time $t$. And one intuition for the Fourier series of a periodic function $f(x)$ is that it describes the decomposition of $f(x)$ into pure tones of various frequencies. In other words, a periodic function is like a chord, and its Fourier series describes the notes in that chord.

(The connection between the two provided by the Cauchy integral formula is therefore quite remarkable; one takes an integral of $f$ over the unit circle and it tells you information about the behavior of $f$ at the origin. But this is more a magic property of holomorphic functions than anything else. One intuition to have here is that a holomorphic function describes, for example, the flow of some ideal fluid, and integrating over the circle gives you information about "sources" and "sinks" of that flow within the circle.)


There is a big difference between the Taylor series and Fourier transform. The Taylor series is a local approximation, while the Fourier transform uses information over a range of the variable.

The theorem Qiaochu mentions is very important in complex analysis and is one indication of how restrictive having a derivative in the complex plane is on functions.