Constraints on the maximal number of dark degrees of freedom from black hole evaporation, cosmic rays, colliders, and supernovae

Abstract

A dark sector with a very large number of massive degrees of freedom is generically constrained by radiative corrections to Newton’s constant. However, there are caveats to this statement, especially if the degrees of freedom are light or massless. Here, we examine in detail and update a number of constraints on the possible number of dark degrees of freedom, including from black hole evaporation, from perturbations to systems including an evaporating black hole, from direct gravitational production at colliders, from high-energy cosmic rays, and from supernovae energy losses. Published by the American Physical Society 2025