Systematic Artifact Analysis and Null Hypothesis Stress Testing for Emergent Vacuum Response Experiments

This work presents a systematic analysis of experimental artifacts and false-positive mechanisms relevant to testing Emergent Vacuum Response Theory (EVRT). Rather than attempting to confirm the existence of emergent effects, the paper emphasizes falsification pathways and null hypothesis stress testing. Known sources of experimental error—including thermal gradients, mechanical vibration, electromagnetic coupling, electrohydrodynamic effects, and measurement bias—are analyzed in terms of their capacity to produce spurious force signals in nonequilibrium electromagnetic systems. Explicit discrimination criteria and control strategies are defined to distinguish genuine signals from artifact-driven observations. The methodology is constructed such that null results are scientifically meaningful, contributing directly to tightening bounds on the effective response parameter χ_eff. Any candidate signal must persist through sequential elimination of conventional physical effects to be considered for further investigation. This work extends the EVRT capstone framework by providing a structured methodology for eliminating false-positive interpretations in experimental investigations. Associated materials and prior work:https://github.com/HitojinKyoshi