Certificate

This is to certify that this “Physics Project

Work” on the topic “Redshift” was submitted
by Shaurya Gupta, student of class 12 th - A
under the guidance of Mr. Akshay Kumar,
my Physics teacher in the Academic Year
2023-2024.

Signature of Signature of
Teacher External Teacher
Acknowledgement
I would like to state that this project is my original
work and would like to thank all those people who
have whole heartedly extend their cooperation and
guidance for making it possible to complete this
project on time.

My sincere gratitude to my physics subject teacher,

Mr. Akshay Kumar, for their valuable guidance and
support. I would also like to thank my family members
and friends for their cooperation in completing this
project within stipulated time.
INDEX
SR.No. Content Page No.

1. Why Redshift as Project? 1

2. Objectives 2

3. Waves and EMW 3

4. Introduction to Redshift 4

5. History 5

6. Doppler Redshift 6

7. Measurement, Characterization
and Interpretation
8. Observations in Astronomy :
Local and Extragalactic

9. Blueshift and Doppler

Blueshift

10. Bibliography

11.
Why Redshift as Project?
I have always been a Space Science and Astrophysics nerd. At first, I
decided to have James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as my project but
after thinking on the cause why JWST was launched, I switched my topic
from JWST to Redshift. The JWST was launched with the main objective
to observe the extragalactic objects which the Hubble Space Telescope
cannot see because Hubble observes in the near ultraviolet
and visible (0.1 to 0.8 μm), and near infrared (0.8–2.5 μm) spectra,
whereas, Webb observes a lower frequency range, from long-wavelength
visible light (red) through mid-infrared (0.6–28.3 μm), thus helping us seek
objects that are faint, too old or distant. Redshift is the reason why Hubble
Telescope failed to observe the farther universe which led to the launch of
JWST.

The Ring Nebula by Hubble in 1998 (left) and by JWST in 2022 (right)
Objectives
The Prime Objective of the project is to understand what
really redshift of light is and its references in the universe.
Furthermore, the objective is developing writing skills,
vocabulary, and improving my cognitive ability and knowledge
of Space Science. It also makes me conscious of the
importance of speaking and listening skills.
Waves and EMW
To understand what is redshift, let’s first talk about waves and electromagnetic
waves (EMW). A wave is basically a disturbance that propagates in space,
transports energy and momentum from one point to another without the transport
of matter.
Some terms connected with Wave motion we will be discussing here in project :-
 Wavelength : Distance between any two nearest particles of the medium,
vibrating in the same phase.
 Frequency : No. Of complete wavelengths completed by particle in one second.
 Time Period : Time taken by wave to travel a distance equal to one wavelength.

Electromagnetic waves are waves of the electromagnetic field that propagate

through space and carry momentum and radiant energy. They include radio
waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays.

Electromagnetic Spectrum
Introduction to Redshift
In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding
decrease in the wavelength and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such
as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous
increase in frequency and energy, is known as a negative redshift, or blueshift. The
terms derive from the colours red and blue which form the extremes of the visible
light spectrum.
In astronomy and cosmology, the three main causes of electromagnetic redshift are
:-
1. The radiation travels between objects which are moving apart.
2. The radiation travels towards an object in a weaker gravitational potential, i.e.
towards an object in less strongly curved (flatter) spacetime.
3. The radiation travels through expanding space (cosmological redshift). The
observation that all sufficiently distant light sources show redshift for a
velocity proportionate to their distance from Earth is known as Hubble’s Law.

Relativistic, gravitational, and cosmological redshifts can be understood under the

umbrella of frame transformation laws. Gravitational waves, which also travel at the
speed of light, are subject to the same redshift phenomena.

The value of a redshift is often denoted by the letter z, corresponding to the

fractional change in wavelength (positive for redshifts, negative for blueshifts), and
by the wavelength ratio 1 + z (which is >1 for redshifts, <1 for blueshifts).
History
The history of the subject began with the development in the 19th century of
classical wave mechanics and the exploration of phenomena associated with
the Doppler effect. The hypothesis was tested and confirmed for sound waves by
the Dutch scientist Christophorus Buys Ballot in 1845. Doppler correctly predicted
that the phenomenon should apply to all waves, and in particular suggested that
the varying colours of stars could be attributed to their motion with respect to the
Earth.

The first Doppler redshift was described by French physicist Hippolyte Fizeau in
1848, who pointed to the shift in spectral lines seen in stars as being due to the
Doppler effect. In 1871, optical redshift was confirmed when the phenomenon was
observed in Fraunhofer lines using solar rotation, about 0.1 Å in the red. In 1901,
Aristarkh Belopolsky verified optical redshift in the laboratory using a system of
rotating mirrors.

Beginning with observations in 1912, Vesto Slipher discovered that most spiral
galaxies, then mostly thought to be spiral nebulae, had considerable redshifts. He
wrote a review in the journal Popular Astronomy. In it he states that "the early
discovery that the great Andromeda spiral had the quite exceptional velocity of –
300 km/s showed the means then available, capable of investigating not only the
spectra of the spirals but their velocities as well." Slipher reported the velocities for
15 spiral nebulae spread across the entire celestial sphere, all but three having
observable "positive" (that is recessional) velocities. Subsequently, Edwin Hubble
discovered an approximate relationship between the redshifts of such
"nebulae" and the distances to them with the formulation of his eponymous
Hubble’s Law. These observations corroborated Alexander
Friedmann’s 1922 work, in which he derived the
Friedmann-Lemaitre equations. In the present day they are
considered strong evidence for an expanding universe
and the Big Bang theory.
Doppler Redshift
If a source of the light is moving away from an observer, then redshift (z > 0)
occurs; if the source moves towards the observer, then blueshift (z < 0) occurs.
This is true for all electromagnetic waves and is explained by the Doppler effect.
Consequently, this type of redshift is called the Doppler redshift. If the source
moves away from the observer with velocity v, which is much less than the speed
of light (v ≪ c), the redshift is given by

where c is the speed of light. In the classical Doppler effect, the frequency of the
source is not modified, but the recessional motion causes the illusion of a lower
frequency.

A more complete treatment of the Doppler redshift requires considering relativistic

effects associated with motion of sources close to the speed of light. A complete
derivation of the effect can be found in the article on the relativistic Doppler effect.
In brief, objects moving close to the speed of light will experience deviations from
the above formula due to the time dilation of special relativity which can be
corrected for by introducing the Lorentz factor γ into the classical Doppler formula
as follows (for motion solely in the line of sight) :

This phenomenon was first observed in a 1938 experiment performed by Herbert

E. Ives and G.R. Stilwell, called the Ives-Stilwell experiment.

Since the Lorentz factor is dependent only on the magnitude of the velocity,this
causes the redshift associated with the relativistic correction to be independent of
the orientation of the source movement. In contrast, the classical part of the
formula is dependent on the projection of the movement of the source into
the line-of-sight which yields different results for different orientations.
If θ is the angle between the direction of relative motion and the direction of
emission in the observer's frame (zero angle is directly away from the observer),
the full form for the relativistic Doppler effect becomes :

and for motion solely in the line of sight (θ = 0°), this equation reduces to :

For the special case that the light is moving at right angle (θ = 90°) to the direction
of relative motion in the observer's frame, the relativistic redshift is known as
the transverse redshift, and a redshift :

is measured, even though the object is not moving away from the observer. Even
when the source is moving towards the observer, if there is a transverse
component to the motion then there is some speed at which the dilation just
cancels the expected blueshift and at higher speed the approaching source will be
redshifted.

Redshift and Blueshift

Measurement, Characterization
After z is measured, the distinction between redshift and blueshift is simply a
matter of whether z is positive or negative. For example, Doppler effect blueshifts

& Interpretation
(z < 0) are associated with objects approaching (moving closer to) the observer
with the light shifting to greater energies. Conversely, Doppler effect redshifts (z >
0) are
The associated
spectrum with
of light objects
that comesreceding (moving
from a source canaway) from the observer
be measured. with the
To determine
light
the shiftingone
redshift, to searches
lower energies. Likewise,
for features in the gravitational
spectrum such blueshifts are associated
as absorption
with emission
lines, light emitted
lines,from a source
or other residing
variations in lightwithin a weaker
intensity. gravitational
If found, field as
these features
observed
can from within
be compared a stronger
with known gravitational
features field, while
in the spectrum gravitational
of various chemicalredshifting
implies the found
compounds opposite conditions. where that compound is located on Earth.
in experiments

Determining the redshift of an object in this way requires a frequency or

wavelength range. In order to calculate the redshift, one has to know the
wavelength of the emitted light in the rest frame of the source : in other words, the
wavelength that would be measured by an observer located adjacent to and co-
moving with the source. Since in astronomical applications this measurement
Absorption
cannot be done directly, because that wouldlines in the
require visible
traveling spectrum
to the distantof
star of
a supercluster of distant galaxies (right), as
interest, the method using spectral lines is used instead. Redshifts cannot be
compared to absorption lines in the visible
calculated by looking at unidentified features whose rest-frame frequency is
spectrum of the Sun (left). Arrows indicate
unknown, or with a spectrum that is featureless or white noise (random fluctuations
redshift. Wavelength increases up towards the
in a spectrum).
red and beyond (frequency decreases).
Redshift (and blueshift) may be characterized by the relative difference between
the observed and emitted wavelengths (or frequency) of an object. In astronomy, it
is customary to refer to this change using a dimensionless quantity called z.
If λ represents wavelength and f represents frequency (note, λf = c where c is
the speed of light), then z is defined by the equations :

Calculation of redshift,

Based on Wavelength Based on Frequency

Observations in Astronomy :
Local & Extragalactic
The redshift observed in astronomy can be measured because
the emission and absorption spectra for atoms are distinctive and well known,
calibrated from spectroscopic experiments in laboratories on Earth. When the
redshift of various absorption and emission lines from a single astronomical object
is measured, z is found to be remarkably constant. Although distant objects may
be slightly blurred and lines broadened, it is by no more than can be explained
by thermal or mechanical motion of the source. For these reasons and others, the
consensus among astronomers is that the redshifts they observe are due to some
combination of the three established forms of Doppler-like redshifts. Alternative
hypotheses and explanations for redshift such as tired light are not generally
considered plausible.

Spectroscopy, as a measurement, is considerably more difficult than

simple photometry, which measures the brightness of astronomical objects
through certain filters. When photometric data is all that is available (for example,
the Hubble Deep Field and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field), astronomers rely on a
technique for measuring photometric redshifts. Due to the broad wavelength
ranges in photometric filters and the necessary assumptions about the nature of
the spectrum at the light-source, errors for these sorts of measurements can
range up to δz = 0.5, and are much less reliable than spectroscopic
determinations. However, photometry does at least allow a qualitative
characterization of a redshift. For example, if a Sun-like spectrum had a redshift
of z = 1, it would be brightest in the infrared(1000nm) rather than at the blue-
green(500nm) color associated with the peak of its blackbody spectrum, and the
light intensity will be reduced in the filter by a factor of four, (1 + z)2. Both the
photon count rate and the photon energy are redshifted.
Local Observations
In nearby objects (within Milky Way galaxy) observed, redshifts are almost always
related to the line-of-sight velocities associated with the objects being observed.
Observations of such redshifts and blueshifts have enabled astronomers to
measure velocities and parameterize the masses of the orbiting stars in
spectroscopic binaries. Similarly, small redshifts and blueshifts detected in the
spectroscopic measurements of individual stars are one way astronomers have
been able to diagnose and measure the presence and characteristics of planetary
systems around other stars and have even made very detailed differential
measurements of redshifts during planetary transits to determine precise orbital
parameters. Redshifts have also been used to make the first measurements of
the rotation rates of planets, velocities of interstellar clouds, the rotation of
galaxies, and the dynamics of accretion onto neutron stars and black holes which
exhibit both Doppler and gravitational redshifts. By measuring the broadening and
shifts of the 21-centimeter hydrogen line in different directions, astronomers have
been able to measure the recessional velocities of interstellar gas, which in turn
reveals the rotation curve of our Milky Way. Similar measurements have been
performed on other galaxies, such as Andromeda. As a diagnostic tool, redshift
measurements are one of the most important spectroscopic measurements made
in astronomy.

By measuring the shifts, we have been

able to measure recessional velocities
of interstellar gas, which in turn
reveals the rotation curve of Milky Way
and hence it’s currently defined shape.
Extragalactic Observations
The most distant objects exhibit larger redshifts corresponding to the Hubble
flow of the universe. The largest-observed redshift, corresponding to the greatest
distance and furthest back in time, is that of the cosmic microwave
background radiation; the numerical value of it’s redshift is about z = 1089 (z =
0 corresponds to present time), and it shows the state of the universe about 13.8
billion years ago, and 379,000 years after the initial moments of the Big Bang.

The luminous point-like cores of quasars were the first "high-redshift" (z > 0.1)
objects discovered before the improvement of telescopes allowed for the
discovery of other high-redshift galaxies.

For galaxies more distant than the Local Group and the nearby Virgo Cluster, but
within a thousand megaparsecs or so, the redshift is approximately proportional to
the galaxy's distance. This correlation was first observed by Edwin Hubble and
has come to be known as Hubble’s law. Vesto Slipher was the first to discover
galactic redshifts, in about the year 1912, while Hubble correlated Slipher's
measurements with distances he measured by other means to formulate his Law.
In the widely accepted cosmological model based on general relativity, redshift is
mainly a result of the expansion of space: this means that the farther away a
galaxy is from us, the more the space has expanded in the time since the light left
that galaxy, so the more the light has been stretched, the more redshifted the light
is, and so the faster it appears to be moving away from us. Hubble's law follows in
part from the Copernican principle. Because it is usually not known
how luminous objects are, measuring the redshift is easier than more direct
distance measurements, so redshift is sometimes in practice converted to a crude
distance measurement using Hubble's law.

Virgo Cluster is approx.

16.5 + 0.1 away and include
the messier galaxies
(Messier 87, Messier 90,
Messier 49, etc.).
Blueshift and Doppler
Blueshift
The opposite of a redshift is a blueshift. A blueshift is any decrease
in wavelength (increase in energy), with a corresponding increase in frequency,
of an electromagnetic wave. In visible light, this shifts a color towards the blue
end of the spectrum.

Doppler Blueshift
Doppler blueshift is caused by movement of a source towards the observer. The
term applies to any decrease in wavelength and increase in frequency caused by
relative motion, even outside the visible spectrum. Only objects moving at near-
relativistic speeds toward the observer are noticeably bluer to the naked eye, but
the wavelength of any reflected or emitted photon or other particle is shortened in
the direction of travel.

Doppler blueshift is used in astronomy to determine relative motion:

 The Andromeda Galaxy is moving toward our own Milky Way within the Local
Group; thus, when observed from Earth, its light is undergoing a blueshift.
 Components of a binary star system will be blueshifted when moving towards
Earth.
 When observing spiral galaxies, the side spinning toward us will have a slight
blueshift relative to the side spinning away from us.
 Blazars are known to propel relativistic jets toward us, emitting synchrotron
radiation and bremsstrahlung that appears blueshifted.
 Nearby stars such as Barnard’s Star are moving toward us, resulting in a very
small blueshift.
 Doppler blueshift of distant objects with a high z can be subtracted from the
much larger cosmological redshift to determine relative motion in
the expanding universe.
Cosmological Blueshift
In a hypothetical universe undergoing a runaway Big Crunch contraction, a
cosmological blueshift would be observed, with galaxies further away being
increasingly blueshifted—the exact opposite of the actually observed
cosmological redshift in the present expanding universe.

Andromeda Galaxy is towards

Milky Way Galaxy, as it’s
observed light is blueshifted.

Barnard’s Star is a nearby

small star whose light is
slightly blueshifted and thus it
can be observed that it is
moving towards us.
Bibliography
The content of this project file has been taken from the following sources :
 Google : www.wikipedia.com
 Youtube : Secrets of the Universe
 Book : The Theory of Everything by Stephen Hawking
Quasars, Redshifts and Controversies by Halton C. Arp

Thank You for making

it till here!!