• DOI:10.1086/339197
• Corpus ID: 8333108

Most Supermassive Black Holes Must Be Rapidly Rotating

@article{Elvis2002MostSB,
  title={Most Supermassive Black Holes Must Be Rapidly Rotating},
  author={Martin Elvis and Guido Risaliti and G. Matt Harvard-smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Arcetri Observatory and B. Larsson Stockholm Observatory},
  journal={The Astrophysical Journal},
  year={2002},
  volume={565}
}

• M. Elvis, G. Risaliti, +2 authors B. Observatory
• Published 17 December 2001
• Physics
• The Astrophysical Journal

We use the integrated spectrum of the X-ray background and quasars' spectral energy distribution to derive the contribution of quasars to the energy output of the universe. We find a lower limit for the energy from accretion onto black holes of 7% of the total luminosity of the universe and probably more, with 15% quite possible. Comparing these values with the masses of black holes in the center of nearby galaxies, we show that the accretion process must be, on average, very efficient: at least 15% of the accreted mass must be transformed into radiated energy. This further implies that most supermassive black holes are rotating rapidly.