Stupendously large black holes cast shadows on the CMB that rule out masses above 10^17 solar masses within the last scattering surface and limit their density parameter to below 10^-5 for masses 10^15 to 10^18 solar masses.
Type III Societies (Apparently) Do Not Exist
3 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
abstract
[Abridged] Whether technological societies remain small and planet-bound like our own, or ultimately span across galaxies is an open question in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Societies that engineer on a galactic scale are classified as Type III on Kardashev's scale. I argue that Type III societies can take the form of blackboxes, entire galaxies veiled in an opaque screen. A blackbox has a temperature that is just above that of the cosmic microwave background. The screen can be made from artificial dust pervading the galaxy. I show that there is enough material in galaxies to build blackboxes if the dust is fashioned into dipole antennas. The thermal emission of a blackbox makes it a bright microwave source. I examine the Planck Catalog of Compact Sources to constrain the abundance of blackboxes. None of the 100 GHz sources has the spectrum expected of a blackbox. The null result rules out shrouded galaxy clusters out to z ~ 1 and shrouded Milky Ways out to (comoving) 700 Mpc. The reach of the results includes 3 million galaxies containing an estimated 300 quadrillion terrestrial planets, as well as tens of thousands of galaxy clusters. Combined with the null results from other searches for Type III societies, I conclude that they are so rare that they basically do not exist within the observable Universe. A hypothesis of "Cosmic Pessimism" is discussed, in which we are alone, our long-term chances for survival are slim, and if we do survive, our future history will be checkered. Our loneliness is suggested by the lack of Type III societies. I discuss the remaining forms of Type III societies not yet well constrained by observation. I argue that the ease of building blackboxes on planetary and Solar System scales may lead, within a few centuries, to environmental catastrophes vastly more devastating than anything we are doing now, boding ill for us.
years
2026 3verdicts
UNVERDICTED 3representative citing papers
WISE data yield upper limits showing that no more than about 0.016% of nearby galaxies can host KIII-scale systems reprocessing at least 21% of a Milky Way-like stellar luminosity into 300 K waste heat.
A workshop report recommends anomaly detection on existing telescope data to search for technosignatures from advanced minds powered by supermassive black holes.
citing papers explorer
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Shadows of Giants: Constraints on Stupendously Large Black Holes from Negative Sources against the Cosmic Microwave Background
Stupendously large black holes cast shadows on the CMB that rule out masses above 10^17 solar masses within the last scattering surface and limit their density parameter to below 10^-5 for masses 10^15 to 10^18 solar masses.
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WISE/CatWISE Constraints on Dysonian Waste-Heat Technosignatures in Nearby Galaxies
WISE data yield upper limits showing that no more than about 0.016% of nearby galaxies can host KIII-scale systems reprocessing at least 21% of a Milky Way-like stellar luminosity into 300 K waste heat.
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The Dyson Minds 2025 Workshop: SETI around Black Holes
A workshop report recommends anomaly detection on existing telescope data to search for technosignatures from advanced minds powered by supermassive black holes.