The mass-energy relation and the Doppler shift of a relativistic light source

Abstract

This work considers the cospectral and arbitrary light emission of a moving source. The observed wavelengths of the emitted photons are described in term of kinematic and dynamical Doppler shifts in which the mass-energy relation plays a fundamental role. The presentation is an alternative way of emphasizing the importance of the concept of proper mass as a conserved quantity and the implications of the mass-energy relation when a source emits radiation. The physical contexts in which the source changes velocity after emission are discussed and a set of additional problems is presented.