On the existence of the near zone inverse Doppler effect

The existence of an inverse Doppler effect in free space is scrutinized due to some papers reporting the existence of such a phenomenon in the near zone of a moving radiating dipole. In the present case the wave scattered from a perfectly conducting thin cylinder moving in the presence of a plane electromagnetic wave is analyzed. The response of such a cylinder may considered as a monopole or a dipole in accordance with the polarization of the incident wave. An intensive numerical spectral estimation based on the fundamental definitions of the terms "frequency", "spectrum" and "uncertainty" is performed on the scattered wave in various ranges. An inverse Doppler effect was never found.