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ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/iii/paper-73/1/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 73 1 i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A kinematic redshift is the relativistic Doppler effect arising from relative motion of emitter and receiver. In a local inertial frame, recession decreases the received frequency and approach increases it. A cosmological redshift instead compares photons emitted and received by comoving observers at different cosmic times: expansion of the scale factor stretches their wavelengths. It exists even when both observers have zero peculiar velocity. Both are frequency ratios measured by observers, but a large cosmological redshift should not be inserted into a flat-spacetime radial-speed formula to define the galaxy's unique recession speed.
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