arXiv subjects

Youjun Lu

Publications and source records attributed to Youjun Lu.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Probing black hole accretion tracks, scaling relations and radiative efficiencies from stacked X-ray active galactic nuclei

The masses of supermassive black holes at the centres of local galaxies appear to be tightly correlated with the mass and velocity dispersions of their galactic hosts. However, the local Mbh-Mstar relation inferred from dynamically measured inactive black holes is up to an order-of-magnitude higher than some estimates from active black holes, and recent work suggests that this discrepancy arises from selection bias on the sample of dynamical black hole mass measurements. In this work we combine X-ray measurements of the mean black hole accretion luminosity as a function of stellar mass and redshift with empirical models of galaxy stellar mass growth, integrating over time to predict the evolving Mbh-Mstar relation. The implied relation is nearly independent of redshift, indicating that stellar and black hole masses grow, on average, at similar rates. Matching the de-biased local Mbh-Mstar relation requires a mean radiative efficiency ~0.15, in line with theoretical expectations for accretion onto spinning black holes. However, matching the "raw" observed relation for inactive black holes requires a mean radiative efficiency around 0.02, far below theoretical expectations. This result provides independent evidence for selection bias in dynamically estimated black hole masses, a conclusion that is robust to uncertainties in bolometric corrections, obscured active black hole fractions, and kinetic accretion efficiency. For our fiducial assumptions, they favour moderate-to-rapid spins of typical supermassive black holes, to achieve a mean radiative efficiency ~0.12-0.20. Our approach has similarities to the classic Soltan analysis, but by using galaxy-based data instead of integrated quantities we are able to focus on regimes where observational uncertainties are minimized.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

On using inspiralling supermassive binary black holes in the PTA frequency band as standard sirens to constrain dark energy

Supermassive binary black holes (SMBBHs) in galactic centers may radiate gravitational wave (GW) in the nano-Hertz frequency band, which are expected to be detected by pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) in the near future. GW signals from individual SMBBHs at cosmic distances, if detected by PTAs, are potentially powerful standard sirens that can be used to independently measure distances and thus put constraints on cosmological parameters. In this paper, we investigate the constraint that may be obtained on the equation of state ($w$) of dark energy by using those SMBBHs, expected to be detected by the PTAs in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) era. By considering both the currently available SMBBH candidates and mock SMBBHs in the universe resulting from a simple galaxy major merger model, we find that $\sim 200$ to $3000$ SMBBHs with chirp mass $>10^9M_\odot$ are expected to be detected with signal-to-noise ratio $>10$ by SKA-PTA with conservative and optimistic settings and they can be used to put a constraint on $w$ to an uncertainty of $Δw\sim 0.02-0.1$. If further information on the mass and mass ratio of those SMBBHs can be provided by electromagnetic observations (e.g., chirp mass uncertainty $\lesssim 50\%$), the constraint may be further improved to $\lesssim 0.01$ level, as many more SMBBHs will be detected by SKA-PTA with relatively better distance measurements and can be used as the standard sirens.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Testing the relativistic Doppler boost hypothesis for supermassive binary black holes candidates via broad emission line profiles

Optical periodicity QSOs found by transient surveys are suggested to be sub-parsec supermassive binary black holes (BBHs). An intriguing interpretation for the periodicity of some of those QSOs is that the continuum is radiated from the accretion disk associated with the BBH secondary component and modulated by the periodical rotation of the secondary via Doppler-boost effect. Close to edge-on orbital orientation can lead to more significant Doppler-boost effect and thus are preferred for these systems, which is distinct from those normal type-1 QSOs with more or less face-on orientations. Therefore, the profiles of broad lines emitted from these Doppler-modulated systems may be significantly different from other systems that are not Doppler-modulated. We investigate the properties of the broad emission lines of optical-periodicity QSOs, including both a sample of QSOs that can be interpreted by the Doppler-modulated effects and a sample that cannot. We find that there is no obvious difference in the profiles and other properties of various (stacked) broad emission lines of these two samples, though a simple broad line region model would suggest significant differences. Our finding raises a challenge to the Doppler boost hypothesis for some of those BBHs candidates with optical periodicity.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

A wide star-black-hole binary system from radial-velocity measurements

All stellar mass black holes have hitherto been identified by X-rays emitted by gas that is accreting onto the black hole from a companion star. These systems are all binaries with black holes below 30 M$_{\odot}$$^{1-4}$. Theory predicts, however, that X-ray emitting systems form a minority of the total population of star-black hole binaries$^{5,6}$. When the black hole is not accreting gas, it can be found through radial velocity measurements of the motion of the companion star. Here we report radial velocity measurements of a Galactic star, LB-1, which is a B-type star, taken over two years. We find that the motion of the B-star and an accompanying H$α$ emission line require the presence of a dark companion with a mass of $68^{+11}_{-13}$ M$_{\odot}$, which can only be a black hole. The long orbital period of 78.9 days shows that this is a wide binary system. The gravitational wave experiments have detected similarly massive black holes$^{7,8}$, but forming such massive ones in a high-metallicity environment would be extremely challenging to current stellar evolution theories$^{9-11}$.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2019

Effect of accreting tidally disrupted stars on the spin evolution of $\sim 10^6M_{\odot}$ black holes

Accretion of tidally disrupted stars (TDSs) is expected to contribute significantly to the growth of massive black holes (MBHs) with mass $\sim 10^6 M_{\odot}$ in galactic centers. In this paper, we quantitatively investigate the effect of the TDS accretion on the spin evolution of these relatively small MBHs, by also considering the accretion of gas-clouds with (many) chaotic episodes. We find that the accretion of TDSs can play an important role or even a dominant role in shaping the spin distribution of $\sim 10^6 M_{\odot}$ MBHs, depending on the contribution fraction ($f_{\rm TDE}$) of the TDS accretion to the MBH growth. If $f_{\rm TDE}$ is as large as $\gtrsim 0.9$, most $\sim 10^6M_{\odot}$ MBHs have low spins ($|a| \lesssim 0.3$); if $f_{\rm TDE}$ is as small as $\lesssim 0.1$, most $\sim 10^6 M_{\odot}$ MBHs have high spins ($|a| \gtrsim 0.7$). We also find that (1) the fraction of highly spinning $\sim 10^6 M_{\odot}$ MBHs in the TDS accretion states is smaller than that in the gas-cloud (AGN) accretion states, which is a consequence of more rapid spin decrease during the period of consecutive TDS accretion than the spin increase during the AGN periods when the spin is large; (2) the fraction of retrograde spin accretion in the TDS accretion states is almost the same as that of prograde spin accretion, while it is negligible in the gas-cloud (AGN) accretion states. Current scarce sample of AGNs ($\sim 10^6 M_{\odot}$) with spin measurements hints an insignificant contribution from TDS accretion to MBH growth. Future measurements on spins of $\sim 10^6 M_{\odot}$ MBHs may provide stronger constraints on the importance of both AGN and TDS accretion states in their growth history.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

On the Mean Radiative Efficiency of Accreting Massive Black Holes in AGNs And QSOs

Radiative efficiency is an important physical parameter that describes the fraction of accretion material converted to radiative energy for accretion onto massive black holes (MBHs). With the simplest Sołtan argument, the radiative efficiency of MBHs can be estimated by matching the mass density of MBHs in the local universe to the accreted mass density by MBHs during AGN/QSO phases. In this paper, we estimate the local MBH mass density through a combination of various determinations of the correlations between the masses of MBHs and the properties of MBH host galaxies, with the distribution functions of those galaxy properties. We also estimate the total energy density radiated by AGNs and QSOs by using various AGN/QSO X-ray luminosity functions in the literature. We then obtain several hundred estimates of the mean radiative efficiency of AGNs/QSOs. Under the assumption that those estimates are independent of each other and free of systematic effects, we apply the median statistics as described by Gott et al.\cite{got01} and find the mean radiative efficiency of AGNs/QSOs is $ε=0.105^{+0.006}_{-0.008}$, which is consistent with the canonical value $\sim0.1$. Considering that about $20\%$ Compton-thick objects may be missed from current available X-ray surveys, the true mean radiative efficiency may be actually $\sim 0.12$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

On Constraining the Growth History of Massive Black Holes via Their Distribution on the Spin-Mass Plane

The spin distribution of massive black holes (MBHs) contains rich information on the MBH growth history. In this paper, we investigate the spin evolution of MBHs by assuming that each MBH experiences two-phase accretion, with an initial phase of coherent-accretion via either the standard thin disc or super-Eddington disc, followed by a chaotic-accretion phase composed of many episodes with different disc orientations. If the chaotic-phase is significant to the growth of an MBH, the MBH spin quickly reaches the maximum value because of the initial coherent-accretion, then changes to a quasi-equilibrium state and fluctuates around a value mainly determined by the mean ratio of the disc to the MBH mass ($M_{\bullet}$) in the chaotic-accretion episodes, and further declines due to late chaotic-accretion if $M_\bullet \gtrsim (1-3) \times 10^8 M_\odot$. The turning point to this decline is determined by the equality of the disc warp radius and disc size. By matching the currently available spin measurements with mock samples generated from the two-phase model(s) on the spin-mass plane, we find that MBHs must experience significant chaotic-accretion phase with many episodes and the mass accreted in each episode is roughly 1-2 percent of M_bh or less. MBHs with $M_{\bullet}\gtrsim 10^8 M_{\odot}$ appear to have intermediate-to-high spins ($\sim 0.5-1$), while lighter MBHs have higher spins ($\gtrsim 0.8$). The best matches also infer that (1) the radiative efficiencies ($η$) of those active MBHs appear to slightly decrease with $M_{\bullet}$; however, the correlation between $η$ and $M_{\bullet}$, if any, is weak; (2) the mean radiative efficiency of active MBHs is $<η> \sim 0.09-0.15$, consistent with the global constraints.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Recovering stellar population parameters via different population models and stellar libraries

Three basic ingredients are required to generate a simple stellar population (SSP) library, i.e., an initial mass function (IMF), a stellar evolution model/isochrones, and an empirical/theoretical stellar spectral library. However, there are still some uncertainties to the determination and understanding of these ingredients. We perform the spectral fitting to test the relative parameter offsets between these uncertainties using two different stellar population models, two different empirical stellar libraries, two different isochrones, and the Salpeter and Chabrier IMFs. Based on these setups, we select five SSP libraries generated with the Galaxev/STELIB and Vazdekis/MILES models, and apply them to the pPXF full-spectrum fitting of both MaNGA and mock spectra. We find that: 1) Compared to the Galaxev/STELIB model, spectral fitting qualities with the Vazdekis/MILES model have significant improvements for those metal-rich (especially over-solar) spectra, which cause better reduced $χ^2$ distributions and more precisely fitted absorption lines. This might due to the lack of metal rich stars in the empirical STELIB library, or code improvement of the Vazdekis model. 2) When applying the Vazdekis/MILES model for spectral fitting, the IMF variation will lead to not only a systematic offset in $M_*/L_r$, but also offsets in age and metallicity, and these offsets increase with increasing stellar population ages. However, the IMF-variation caused metallicity offsets disappear in the case of Galaxev/STELIB based libraries. 3) The Padova2000 model provides a better match to the MaNGA galaxy spectra at [M/H]$_L<-1.0$, while the BaSTI model match the local galaxy spectra better at [M/H]$_L>-1.0$. Current tests suggest that spectral fitting with the Vazdekis/MILES+BaSTI combination would be a better choice for local galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Detecting Lensing-Induced Diffraction in Astrophysical Gravitational Waves

Gravitational waves emitted from compact binary coalescence can be subject to wave diffraction if they are gravitationally lensed by an intervening mass clump whose Schwarzschild timescale matches the wave period. Waves in the ground-based frequency band $f\sim 10$--$10^3\,$Hz are sensitive to clumps with masses $M_E \sim 10^2$--$10^3\,M_\odot$ enclosed within the impact parameter. These can be the central parts of low mass $M_L \sim 10^3$--$10^6\,M_\odot$ dark matter halos, which are predicted in Cold Dark Matter scenarios but are challenging to observe. Neglecting finely-tuned impact parameters, we focus on lenses aligned generally on the Einstein scale for which multiple lensed images may not form in the case of an extended lens. In this case, diffraction induces amplitude and phase modulations whose sizes $\sim 10\%$--$20\%$ are small enough so that standard matched filtering with unlensed waveforms do not degrade, but are still detectable for events with high signal-to-noise ratio. We develop and test an agnostic detection method based on dynamic programming, which does not require a detailed model of the lensed waveforms. For pseudo-Jaffe lenses aligned up to the Einstein radius, we demonstrate that a pair of fully upgraded aLIGO/Virgo detectors can extract diffraction imprints from binary black hole mergers out to $z_s \sim 0.2$--$0.3$. The prospect will improve dramatically for a third-generation detector for which binary black hole mergers out to $z_s \sim 2$--$4$ will all become valuable sources.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Swift Monitoring Observations of Mrk 231: Detection of Ultraviolet Variability

We analyze 168 Swift monitoring observations of the nearest broad absorption line quasar Mrk 231 in the UV and X-ray bands, where we detect significant variability in the UV ($\sim$2246Å) light curve with a null probability of $4.3\times10^{-10}$ for a constant model. Separately, from an archival sample of Swift observed active galactic nuclei (AGN), we measure the relation between UV excess variance and luminosity, finding that the normalized UV excess variance decreases with luminosity. Comparing to this mean relation, the normalized UV excess variance of Mrk 231 is smaller, however within the scatter characterising the full population. The upper limit of the X-ray excess variance is consistent with other AGN. The power spectrum density of the UV light curve can be well fit by a power law model with a slope of $1.82\pm0.14$ between $10^{-7.5}$ and $10^{-6}$ Hz, consistent with those for typical AGN, with no obvious quasi-periodical oscillation peaks. The UV variability and its power spectrum suggest that a significant amount of the UV emission of Mrk 231 is from the accretion disk. The consistencies in the normalized UV variability and the shape of the power spectrum density between Mrk 231 and other normal AGN suggest that the origin of UV variability of broad absorption line quasars is similar to other AGN, and dust scattering at large scales such as the torus is not a dominating process for the UV emission of Mrk 231. Significant scattering, if present, is constrained to smaller than $\sim$10 light days. We perform lagged correlation analysis between the UV and X-ray light curves and find the correlation insignificant within the present data.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Recovering stellar population parameters via two full-spectrum fitting algorithms in the absence of model uncertainties

Using mock spectra based on Vazdekis/MILES library fitted within the wavelength region 3600-7350Å, we analyze the bias and scatter on the resulting physical parameters induced by the choice of fitting algorithms and observational uncertainties, but avoid effects of those model uncertainties. We consider two full-spectrum fitting codes: pPXF and STARLIGHT, in fitting for stellar population age, metallicity, mass-to-light ratio, and dust extinction. With pPXF we find that both the bias in the population parameters and the scatter in the recovered logarithmic values follows the expected trend. The bias increases for younger ages and systematically makes recovered ages older, $M_*/L_r$ larger and metallicities lower than the true values. For reference, at S/N=30, and for the worst case ($t=10^8$yr), the bias is 0.06 dex in $M_*/L_r$, 0.03 dex in both age and [M/H]. There is no significant dependence on either E(B-V) or the shape of the error spectrum. Moreover, the results are consistent for both our 1-SSP and 2-SSP tests. With the STARLIGHT algorithm, we find trends similar to pPXF, when the input E(B-V)<0.2 mag. However, with larger input E(B-V), the biases of the output parameter do not converge to zero even at the highest S/N and are strongly affected by the shape of the error spectra. This effect is particularly dramatic for youngest age, for which all population parameters can be strongly different from the input values, with significantly underestimated dust extinction and [M/H], and larger ages and $M_*/L_r$. Results degrade when moving from our 1-SSP to the 2-SSP tests. The STARLIGHT convergence to the true values can be improved by increasing Markov Chains and annealing loops to the "slow mode". For the same input spectrum, pPXF is about two order of magnitudes faster than STARLIGHT's "default mode" and about three order of magnitude faster than STARLIGHT's "slow mode".

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Black hole and cosmos with multiple horizons and multiple singularities in vector-tensor theories

A stationary and spherically symmetric black hole (For example, Reissner-Nordstrom black hole or Kerr-Newman black hole) has at most one singularity and two horizons. One horizon is the outer event horizon and the other is the inner Cauchy horizon. Can we construct static and spherically symmetric black hole solutions with N horizons and M singularities? De Sitter cosmos has only one apparent horizon. Can we construct cosmos solutions with N horizons? In this article, we present the static and spherically symmetric black hole and cosmos solutions with N horizons and M singularities in the vector-tensor theories. Following these motivations, we also construct the black hole solutions with a firewall. The deviation of these black hole solutions from the usual ones can be potentially tested by future measurements of gravitational waves.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Gravitational lensing of gravitational waves: A statistical perspective

In this paper, we study the strong gravitational lensing of gravitational waves (GWs) from a statistical perspective, with particular focus on the high frequency GWs from stellar binary black hole coalescences. These are most promising targets for ground-based detectors such as Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (aLIGO) and the proposed Einstein Telescope (ET) and can be safely treated under the geometrical optics limit for GW propagation. We perform a thorough calculation of the lensing rate, by taking account of effects caused by the ellipticity of lensing galaxies, lens environments, and magnification bias. We find that in certain GW source rate scenarios, we should be able to observe strongly lensed GW events once per year ($\sim1~\text{yr}^{-1}$) in the aLIGO survey at its design sensitivity; for the proposed ET survey, the rate could be as high as $\sim80~\text{yr}^{-1}$. These results depend on the estimate of GW source abundance, and hence can be correspondingly modified with an improvement in our understanding of the merger rate of stellar binary black holes. We also compute the fraction of four-image lens systems in each survey, predicting it to be $\sim30$ per cent for the aLIGO survey and $\sim6$ per cent for the ET survey. Finally, we evaluate the possibility of missing some images due to the finite survey duration, by presenting the probability distribution of lensing time delays. We predict that this selection bias will be insignificant in future GW surveys, as most of the lens systems ($\sim90$ per cent) will have time delays less than $\sim1$ month, which will be far shorter than survey durations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

21cm Signal Recovery via the Robust Principle Component Analysis

The redshifted 21~cm signal from neutral hydrogen (HI) is potentially a very powerful probe for cosmology, but a difficulty in its observation is that it is much weaker than foreground radiation from the Milky Way as well as extragalactic radio sources. The foreground radiation at different frequencies are however coherent along one line of sight, and various methods of foreground subtraction based on this property have been proposed. In this paper, we present a new method based on the Robust Principal Component Analysis (RPCA) to subtract foreground and extract 21~cm signal, which explicitly uses both the low-rank property of the frequency covariance matrix (i.e. frequency coherence) of the foreground and the sparsity of the frequency covariance matrix of the 21~cm signal. The low-rank property of the foregrounds frequency covariance has been exploited in many previous works on foreground subtraction, but to our knowledge the sparsity of the frequency covariance of the 21~cm signal is first explored here. By exploiting both properties in the RPCA method, in principle, the foreground and signal may be separated without the signal loss problem. Our method is applicable to both small patch of sky with the flat-sky approximation, and to large area of sky where the sphericity has to be considered. It is also easy to be extended to deal with more complex conditions such as sky map with defects.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

Pulsation of black holes

The Hawking-Penrose singularity theorem states that a singularity forms inside a black hole in general relativity. To remove this singularity one must resort to a more fundamental theory. Using a corrected dynamical equation arising in loop quantum cosmology and braneworld models, we study the gravitational collapse of a perfect fluid sphere with a rather general equation of state. In the frame of an observer comoving with this fluid, the sphere pulsates between a maximum and a minimum size, avoiding the singularity. The exterior geometry is also constructed. There are usually an outer and an inner apparent horizon, resembling the Reissner-Nordström situation. For a distant observer the {horizon} crossing occurs in an infinite time and the pulsations of the black hole quantum "beating heart" are completely unobservable. However, it may be observable if the black hole is not spherical symmetric and radiates gravitational wave due to the quadrupole moment, if any.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Host galaxy properties of mergers of stellar binary black holes and their implications for advanced LIGO gravitational wave sources

Understanding the host galaxy properties of stellar binary black hole (SBBH) mergers is important for revealing the origin of the SBBH gravitational-wave sources detected by advanced LIGO and helpful for identifying their electromagnetic counterparts. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of the host galaxy properties of SBBHs by implementing semi-analytical recipes for SBBH formation and merger into cosmological galaxy formation model. If the time delay between SBBH formation and merger ranges from $\la$\,Gyr to the Hubble time, SBBH mergers at redshift $z\la0.3$ occur preferentially in big galaxies with stellar mass $M_*\ga2\times10^{10}\msun$ and metallicities $Z$ peaking at $\sim0.6Z_\odot$. However, the host galaxy stellar mass distribution of heavy SBBH mergers ($M_{\bullet\bullet}\ga50\msun$) is bimodal with one peak at $\sim10^9\msun$ and the other peak at $\sim2\times10^{10}\msun$. The contribution fraction from host galaxies with $Z\la0.2Z_\odot$ to heavy mergers is much larger than that to less heavy mergers. If SBBHs were formed in the early universe (e.g., $z>6$), their mergers detected at $z\la0.3$ occur preferentially in even more massive galaxies with $M_*>3\times10^{10}\msun$ and in galaxies with metallicities mostly $\ga0.2Z_\odot$ and peaking at $Z\sim0.6Z_\odot$, due to later cosmic assembly and enrichment of their host galaxies. SBBH mergers at $z\la0.3$ mainly occur in spiral galaxies, but the fraction of SBBH mergers occur in elliptical galaxies can be significant if those SBBHs were formed in the early universe; and about two thirds of those mergers occur in the central galaxies of dark matter halos. We also present results on the host galaxy properties of SBBH mergers at higher redshift.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Simulating the galaxy cluster "El Gordo": gas motion, kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signal, and X-ray line features

The massive galaxy cluster "El Gordo" (ACT-CL J0102--4915) is a rare merging system with a high collision speed suggested by multi-wavelength observations and the theoretical modeling. Zhang et al. (2015) propose two types of mergers, a nearly head-on merger and an off-axis merger with a large impact parameter, to reproduce most of the observational features of the cluster, by using numerical simulations. The different merger configurations of the two models result in different gas motion in the simulated clusters. In this paper, we predict the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect, the relativistic correction of the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect, and the X-ray spectrum of this cluster, based on the two proposed models. We find that (1) the amplitudes of the kSZ effect resulting from the two models are both on the order of $ΔT/T\sim10^{-5}$; but their morphologies are different, which trace the different line-of-sight velocity distributions of the systems; (2) the relativistic correction of the tSZ effect around $240 {\rm\,GHz}$ can be possibly used to constrain the temperature of the hot electrons heated by the shocks; and (3) the shift between the X-ray spectral lines emitted from different regions of the cluster can be significantly different in the two models. The shift and the line broadening can be up to $\sim 25{\rm\,eV}$ and $50{\rm\,eV}$, respectively. We expect that future observations of the kSZ effect and the X-ray spectral lines (e.g., by ALMA, XARM) will provide a strong constraint on the gas motion and the merger configuration of ACT-CL J0102--4915.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

Evidence for higher black hole spin in radio-loud quasars

One of the major unsolved questions on the understanding of the AGN population is the origin of the dichotomy between radio-quiet and radio-loud quasars. The most promising explanation is provided by the spin paradigm, which suggests radio-loud quasars have higher black hole spin. However, the measurement of black hole spin remains extremely challenging. We here aim at comparing the mean radiative efficiencies of carefully matched samples of radio-loud and radio-quiet SDSS quasars at 0.3<z<0.8. We use the [OIII] luminosity as an indirect average tracer of the ionizing continuum in the extreme-UV regime where differences in the SED due to black hole spin are most pronounced. We find that the radio-loud sample shows an enhancement in [OIII] line strength by a factor of at least 1.5 compared to a radio-quiet sample matched in redshift, black hole mass and optical continuum luminosity or accretion rate. We argue that this enhancement is caused by differences in the SED, suggesting higher average bolometric luminosities at fixed accretion rate in the radio-loud population. This suggests that the radio-loud quasar population has on average systematically larger radiative efficiencies and therefore higher black hole spin than the radio-quiet population, providing observational support for the black hole spin paradigm.

astro-ph.GA↗