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A supermassive black hole has been found at the centre of nearly every galaxyobserved with sufficient sensitivity. The masses of these black holes areobserved to increase with either the total mass or the mean (random) velocityof the stars in their host galaxies. The origin of these correlations remainselusive. Observational systematics and biases severely limit our knowledge ofthe local demography of supermassive black holes thus preventing accurate modelcomparisons and progress in this field. Here we show that the large-scalespatial distribution of local active galactic nuclei (AGN), believed to beaccreting supermassive black holes, can constrain the shape and normalizationof the black hole-stellar mass relation thus bypassing resolution-relatedobservational biases. In turn, our results can set more stringent constraintson the so-called "radiative efficiency", a fundamental parameter describing theinner physics of supermassive black holes that is closely linked to their spin,geometry, and ability to release energy. The mean value of the radiativeefficiency can be estimated by comparing the average total luminous output ofAGN with the relic mass density locked up in quiescent supermassive black holesat galaxy centres today. For currently accepted values of the AGN obscuredfractions and bolometric corrections, our newest estimates of the localsupermassive black hole mass density favour mean radiative efficiencies of~10-20\%, suggesting that the vast majority of supermassive black holes arespinning moderately to rapidly. With large-scale AGN surveys coming online, ournovel methodology will enable even tighter constraints on the fundamentalparameters that regulate the growth of supermassive black holes.

Constraining black hole-galaxy scaling relations from the large-scale clustering of Active Galactic Nuclei and implied mean radiative efficiency