Orientation & QSO black hole mass estimation

Orientation is estimated using radio core dominance measurements based on FIRST survey maps. Black hole masses are estimated from virial-based scaling relationships using H{beta}, and compared to the stellar velocity dispersion ({sigma}*), predicted using the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of [OIII] {lambda}5007, which tracks mass via the M-{sigma}* relation.

We find that the FWHM of H{beta} correlates significantly with radio core dominance and biases black hole mass determinations that use it, but that this is not the case for {sigma}* based on [OIII] {lambda}5007. The ratio of black hole masses predicted using orientation-biased and unbiased estimates, which can be determined for radio-quiet as well as radio-loud quasars, is significantly correlated with radio core dominance.