Research project is (co) funded by the Slovenian Research Agency.
UL Member: Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
Code: J7-60121
Project: The photo of a black hole: physics meets photography
Period: 1. 1. 2025 - 31. 12. 2027
Range per year: 1,15 FTE, category: C
Head: Sašo Grozdanov
Research activity: Natural sciences and mathematics
Research Organisations, Researchers and Citations for bibliographic records
Project description:
The recent groundbreaking achievement of the Event Horizon Telescope in capturing the first images of black holes marked a pivotal moment in scientific advance and public perception. Though these images were captured in the radio wave spectrum rather than that of visible light, they were described by their authors to be “photographs”. At first, the choice of wording seems improbable, given that black holes have been known to classically absorb all light, and light has traditionally been understood as an inalienable aspect of the photographic medium. Calling it a photograph also seems odd given the remoteness of artistic objectives from theoretical physics. And yet, through interdisciplinary dialogue between the physics and photo community, this project sets out to show how the pursuit of "paradoxical" behaviour in light is something to which the two fields are deeply committed.
The project aims to explore the impact of the first black hole photographs on science by connecting them to concerns in contemporary and historic photographic practice as well as cutting-edge research in theoretical physics. The photographs allow us to directly observe a range of chaotic, high-energy phenomena exhibited by the accreting plasma and light in the vicinity of the rotating (Kerr) black hole. This provides a direct window into previously unmeasurable phenomena, such as the photon ring and, potentially, even offers us insight into the holographic dual of astrophysical rotating black holes.
While photos normally produce highly realistic images as direct imprints of light, they can only provide insight into events whose constitutive features are known. If the reality corresponding to a photo is unknown, it becomes critical to be able to distinguish between the formlessness of little-understood phenomena and the noise produced by the medium. The project addresses the black hole photos' issues of legibility in two steps. Firstly, it sets the art history of abstract form in relation to problems of human bias arising from the interpretation of large data sets that are used to create the photos. Secondly, it addresses the need to adapt the tools used to capture space and time in photography. The project culminates in an interdisciplinary exhibition and rountables bridging scientific inquiry and artistic interpretation.
