Quantitative Black Hole Imaging Laboratory with the Black Hole Vision App: I. Schwarzschild Spacetime

TL;DR

This paper introduces a pedagogical tool using a smartphone app to analyze simulated Schwarzschild black hole images, enhancing undergraduate and graduate education in General Relativity.

Contribution

It presents a modular, educational framework for analyzing black hole imaging data, including mass triangulation, coordinate transformations, and stability analysis, suitable for students.

Findings

Triangulated Schwarzschild mass using independent probes.

Quantified anisotropic coordinate transformations via Jacobian maps.

Measured Lyapunov exponents to analyze orbit stability.

Abstract

This paper utilizes the {\it Black Hole Vision} smartphone application to catalyze a pedagogical shift in General Relativity education through the quantitative analysis of simulated black hole imaging. Presented here for the Schwarzschild spacetime, the investigation is designed with a hierarchical modularity suitable for undergraduate students, with an expanded version intended for graduate courses in General Relativity or Relativistic Astrophysics. By transforming the mobile device into an educational relativistic imaging tool, we triangulate the simulated Schwarzschild mass through independent probes and characterize anisotropic coordinate transformations via a Jacobian map. Global numerical consistency is investigated through integrated coordinate length, while the exponential instability of nearly bound orbits is quantified through a measurement of the simulated Lyapunov exponent. Finally, symmetry is constrained through a sub-pixel constraint on eccentricity in the simulated spacetime. By integrating this statistical framework, the paper enables students to explore the distinction between physical signatures and instrumental noise using established metrological protocols.