A Comment on the Radiative Efficiency of AGN

Abstract

A recent study of the accretion efficiency of the PG sample AGN, based on the thin accretion disk emission model, finds the accretion radiative efficiency is correlated with the black hole mass (eta Mbh^0.5). A followup study suggests the correlation is an artifact induced by selection effects. Here we point out there are two independent effects. The first is a sample selection effect, which leads to a high L/L_Edd AGN sample. The second effect is the observed small spread in the SED shape, which is not induced by selection effects. The second effect is what leads to the eta Mbh^0.5 relation in the PG sample. The physical reason for the small spread in the SED shape is an intriguing open question.