Accumulation of Round-Off Error in Fast Fourier Transforms

The fast Fourier transform (FFT) is an algorithm to compute the discrete Fourier coefficients with a substantial time saving over conventional methods. The finite word length used in the computer causes an error in computing the Fourier coefficients. This paper derives explicit expressions for the mean square error in the FFT when floating-point arithmetics are used. Upper and lower bounds for the total relative mean square error are given. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the actual error observed by taking the FFT of data sequences. © 1970, ACM. All rights reserved.