Alignment of Stellar and AGN Accretion Disks from SDSS Data

Lagos, Padilla & Cora (2009) show that if alignments between the galaxy kinematics and the AGN system were to occur, massive galaxies should host BHs with high spin values, regardless of the detailed physics of the BH. Since the BH spin regulates the mass-to-energy conversion (Marconi et al. 2004) and possibly the existence of radio jets (Sikora et al. 2007), this study has a strong impact in our understanding of galaxy formation.