Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford / 2021 resit / 6 / Solution

Take positive velocity towards $B$, and interpret $100\mathrm{MHz}$ as the emitted frequency in the probe's rest frame. The relativistic velocity-addition formula gives the probe's station-frame velocity:For reception at the station, photons propagate backwards while the probe recedes. The longitudinal relativistic Doppler effect givesBefore the probe overtakes $B$, their separation decreases. The probe's velocity in $B$'s inertial frame isThe approaching-source relativistic Doppler effect therefore givesAn independent frame calculation gives the same result: forward photons have station-frame frequency $300\mathrm{MHz}$, and a receiver moving at $0.4c$ measures $300\sqrt{0.6/1.4}\mathrm{MHz}$. If reception occurs after the probe passes $B$, backwards photons instead give $f_B=100\sqrt{7/27}\mathrm{MHz}\simeq 50.92\mathrm{MHz}$. The direction of propagation and the reception geometry are essential to choosing the Doppler factor.