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Pragmatic Unification, Observation and Realism in Astroparticle Physics

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Abstract

Astroparticle physics is a recent sub-discipline of physics that emerged from early cosmic ray studies, astrophysics, and particle physics. Its theoretical foundations range from quantum field theory to general relativity, but the underlying “standard models” of cosmology and particle physics are far from being unified. The paper explores the pragmatic strategies employed in astroparticle physics in order to unify a disunified research field, the concept of observation involved in these strategies, and their relations to scientific realism.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank two anonymous referees for their helpful comments on earlier versions of the paper.

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  1. Institut für Philosophie und Politikwissenschaften, Technische Universität Dortmund, 44227, Dortmund, Germany

    Brigitte Falkenburg

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Falkenburg, B. Pragmatic Unification, Observation and Realism in Astroparticle Physics. J Gen Philos Sci 43, 327–345 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10838-012-9193-1

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