[2602.10181] Why do we do astrophysics?
-->
Astrophysics > Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
arXiv:2602.10181 (astro-ph)
[Submitted on 10 Feb 2026]
Title:Why do we do astrophysics?
Authors:David W. Hogg (NYU, Flatiron, MPIA)<br>View a PDF of the paper titled Why do we do astrophysics?, by David W. Hogg (NYU and 2 other authors
View PDF<br>HTML (experimental)
Abstract:At time of writing, large language models (LLMs) are beginning to obtain the ability to design, execute, write up, and referee scientific projects on the data-science side of astrophysics. What implications does this have for our profession? In this white paper, I list - and argue for - a set of facts or "points of agreement" about what astrophysics is, or should be; these include considerations of novelty, people-centrism, trust, and (the lack of) clinical value. I then list and discuss every possible benefit that astrophysics can be seen as bringing to us, and to science, and to universities, and to the world; these include considerations of love, weaponry, and personal (and personnel) development. I conclude with a discussion of two possible (extreme and bad) policy recommendations related to the use of LLMs in astrophysics, dubbed "let-them-cook" and "ban-and-punish." I argue strongly against both of these; it is not going to be easy to develop or adopt good moderate policies.
Comments:<br>21-page white paper
Subjects:
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)
Cite as:<br>arXiv:2602.10181 [astro-ph.IM]
(or<br>arXiv:2602.10181v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.10181
Focus to learn more
arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite
Submission history<br>From: David W. Hogg [view email]<br>[v1]<br>Tue, 10 Feb 2026 19:00:00 UTC (33 KB)
Full-text links:<br>Access Paper:
View a PDF of the paper titled Why do we do astrophysics?, by David W. Hogg (NYU and 2 other authors<br>View PDF<br>HTML (experimental)<br>TeX Source
view license
Current browse context:
astro-ph.IM
next >
new<br>recent<br>| 2026-02
Change to browse by:
astro-ph<br>physics<br>physics.hist-ph
References & Citations
NASA ADS<br>Google Scholar
Semantic Scholar
1 blog link<br>(what is this?)
export BibTeX citation<br>Loading...
BibTeX formatted citation
×
loading...
Data provided by:
Bookmark
Bibliographic Tools
Bibliographic and Citation Tools
Bibliographic Explorer Toggle
Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?)
Connected Papers Toggle
Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?)
Litmaps Toggle
Litmaps (What is Litmaps?)
scite.ai Toggle
scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?)
Code, Data, Media
Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article
alphaXiv Toggle
alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?)
Links to Code Toggle
CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?)
DagsHub Toggle
DagsHub (What is DagsHub?)
GotitPub Toggle
Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?)
Huggingface Toggle
Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?)
ScienceCast Toggle
ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?)
Demos
Demos
Replicate Toggle
Replicate (What is Replicate?)
Spaces Toggle
Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?)
Spaces Toggle
TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?)
Related Papers
Recommenders and Search Tools
Link to Influence Flower
Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?)
Core recommender toggle
CORE Recommender (What is CORE?)
IArxiv recommender toggle
IArxiv Recommender<br>(What is IArxiv?)
Author
Venue
Institution
Topic
About arXivLabs
arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators
arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.
Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.
Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs .
Which authors of this paper are endorsers? |<br>Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)