Accurate masses for dispersion-supported galaxies

We derive an accurate mass estimator for dispersion-supported stellar systems and demonstrate its validity by analysing resolved line-of-sight velocity data for globular clusters, dwarf galaxies and elliptical galaxies. Specifically, by manipulating the spherical Jeans equation we show that the mass enclosed within the 3D deprojected half-light radius r 1/2 can be determined with only mild assumptions about the spatial variation of the stellar velocity dispersion anisotropy as long as the projected velocity dispersion profile is fairly flat near the half-light radius, as is typically observed. We find