Coincidence and reproducibility in the EHT black hole experiment

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Science
• Astrophysics
• Experimental Physics

Background:

• The 2017 Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) experiment produced the first image of a supermassive black hole.
• Philosophical frameworks are crucial for understanding the implications of complex scientific experiments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a philosophical analysis of the 2017 EHT black hole experiment.
• To evaluate the methods used in reconstructing the black hole image and assessing the robustness of the results.

Main Methods:

• Application of Hacking's philosophy of experimentation to the EHT experiment.
• Utilizing Galison's 'Philosophy of the Shadow' to describe image reconstruction.
• Analysis of the 'Argument from Coincidence' and Cartwright's notion of robustness in the context of EHT's mass measurements.

Main Results:

• The EHT experiment aligns with key elements of Hacking's philosophy of experimentation.
• The reconstruction of the black hole image involved stages of Socio-Epistemology and Mechanical Objectivity.
• The EHT Collaboration's use of the Argument from Coincidence and robustness is critically examined, contrasting Technological Agnosticism with scientific agnosticism.

Conclusions:

• The philosophical underpinnings of the EHT experiment warrant careful consideration.
• The methods for ensuring trust in the EHT results, particularly the Argument from Coincidence, are shown to be potentially problematic.
• The interpretation of robustness and agnosticism in the EHT experiment is contrasted with established philosophical concepts.