Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-symmetry-and-relativity-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019/2/b/solution

Let label the reception event in the source reference frame. Its distance from the source and the relevant retarded time are
The received phase is . Because the observer's proper time obeys , its measured frequency is
Equivalently, write and . The incoming Doppler factor is , obtained also by contracting the photon four-momentum with the observer's four-velocity. The frequency decreases monotonically, with
In particular, the instant of closest approach is not the zero-shift point: a moving receiver looking perpendicular to its motion sees a factor , not . The latter factor applies to a different moving-emitter geometry. The graph uses source-frame reception time, with observer proper time .
Figure 1.
Frequency measured by an observer passing a stationary monochromatic source
. Each curve gives the received frequency divided by the emitted frequency against source-frame time ct/L. The vertical line marks closest approach; the black points have height gamma. Approaching and receding asymptotes are labelled for the fastest observer. Details.

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