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Let $p(r)=\rho (r){\sigma }_r^2(r)$ and use the velocity-anisotropy parameter $\beta =1-{\sigma }_{\theta }^2/{\sigma }_r^2$, with ${\sigma }_{\theta }^2={\sigma }_{\varphi }^2$. Here the tangential variance is per component; a definition using the sum of both tangential variances instead has an extra factor of two. The original PDF has this correct per-component ratio, which the TeX corrupts.

At a point along the line of sight, $r^2=R^2+z^2$. The radial direction makes an angle with the sightline satisfying ${\sin }^2\chi =R^2/r^2$. Spherical symmetry eliminates mixed moments, and projection givesUsing both sides of the galaxy and $dz=rdr/\sqrt{r^2-R^2}$,For this formula use $I$ as the projected density of the same tracer represented by $\rho$. If $\rho$ is a mass density and $I$ an observed surface brightness, a constant mass-to-light ratio rescales $I$ by that factor; otherwise replace $\rho$ by the luminosity density throughout the tracer equation. The gravitating $M(r)$ remains the total mass, not necessarily the tracer's mass.

The Spherical Jeans equation is $p^{\prime }+2\beta p/r=-\rho GM/r^2$. Eliminate $\beta p=-r[p^{\prime }+\rho GM/r^2]/2$ from the projected integrand:Rearranging provesNo constancy of $\beta$ was needed. Convergence of the projected moments and the steady spherical assumptions are required. This is the integral form of the projected spherical Jeans residual.

Although $\beta$ has disappeared explicitly, the unknown radial pressure $p$ still carries the orbital information. Thus the identity does not remove the mass--anisotropy--density degeneracy: projected brightness and one projected second moment do not uniquely determine both $M(r)$ and the radial/tangential partition. A central rise in velocity dispersion can reflect a compact central mass, radial orbital bias, or a changing mass-to-light ratio; flattening and departures from equilibrium add further ambiguities.

For example, within a point-mass-dominated region with tracer $\rho \propto r^{-k}$ and constant $\beta$, direct solution gives ${\sigma }_r^2=G{M}_{\bullet }/[(k+1-2\beta )r]$. For $k>1$ the projected velocity dispersion of a Keplerian cusp isThe beta function factors come from setting $r=R\sec \chi$ in the integrals along the line of sight. Different allowed $\beta$ generally change the mass needed to fit the same normalization; $k=2$ is a special cancellation, not the general case. Resolving the central black-hole sphere of influence and constraining orbital structure with higher velocity moments or additional kinematic directions strengthens a compact-mass inference. Brightness and velocity dispersion profiles alone do not establish a unique central black-hole mass, still less an event horizon.

Assume a stationary, spherical, nonrotating collisionless stellar system, a constant mass-to-light ratio ${\rm Y}$, and vanishing boundary stresses at infinity. Let $\lambda$ be the luminosity density, so $\rho ={\rm Y}\lambda$, and set $\gamma =G{\rm Y}$. Distinguish spatial radius $r$ from projected radius $R$. The enclosed luminosity and radial force areHere ${\sigma }_t^2$ is the velocity dispersion of either one of the two tangential components; thus $\beta =1-{\sigma }_t^2/{\sigma }_r^2$. If a combined tangential variance is used instead, its contribution must be divided by two in this definition.

To derive the Jeans equation, start with the steady Collisionless Boltzmann equation $v_j{\partial }_{j}f-({\partial }_j\Phi ){\partial }_{v_j}f=0$. Multiply by $v_i$ and integrate over all velocities. Integration by parts in velocity, with $f$ decaying fast enough to eliminate boundary terms, givesThe same equation holds with luminosity weighting because the tracer's luminosity is conserved along its orbit. Spherical symmetry makes the local stellar velocity moment tensor diagonal, with entries $q=\lambda {\sigma }_r^2$, $q_t=\lambda {\sigma }_t^2$, $q_t$. Its radial divergence is $q^{\prime }+(2q-2q_t)/r$: the second term accounts for the changing directions of the radial and tangential unit vectors. ThereforeThis is the Spherical Jeans equation; it follows from a stellar velocity moment rather than requiring a particular form of the galactic distribution function.

Integrating the luminosity density along a line of sight gives its surface brightness:The second identity is Spherical Abel deprojection. For the second stellar velocity moment, the angle between the radial direction and the line of sight has ${\sin }^2\theta =R^2/r^2$. The line-of-sight velocity dispersion is therefore ${\sigma }_r^2{\cos }^2\theta +{\sigma }_t^2{\sin }^2\theta ={\sigma }_r^2(1-\beta R^2/r^2)$, andFrom the Spherical Jeans equation, $\beta q=-r{q}^{\prime }/2-\gamma \lambda L/(2r)$. Substitution producesThe primary PDF has a genuine symbol error in its projected gravity term: it prints a second $\gamma$ multiplying $L$ inside the integral, where $\lambda$ is required. The corrected projected spherical Jeans residual isTo justify the derivative at the singular-looking lower limit, write $A(R)={\int }_0^{\infty }q(\sqrt{R^2+z^2})dz$. Differentiation then gives $A^{\prime }(R)=R{\int }_R^{\infty }{q}^{\prime }(r)(r^2-R^2{)}^{-1/2}dr$. In particular, $Rp=(R^{2}A{)}^{\prime }$. If $R^{2}A$ tends to zero both at zero and infinity, as for a finite isolated equilibrium with sufficiently decaying stresses,If a boundary stress survives, its contribution must be retained; the zero-integral statement is not a finite-aperture identity.

Now identify each integral with a term in the virial theorem. Let $K$ be the total kinetic energy, including all three random components, and $W$ the gravitational potential energy. Averaging over spatial directions in a spherical system gives one third of the total stellar velocity moment along any chosen line of sight, even if the velocities are locally anisotropic. ThusBuilding the spherical mass shell by shell givesFinally, Fubini theorem and ${\int }_0^r{R}^3(r^2-R^2{)}^{-1/2}dR=2r^3/3$ give the gravitational contribution to the residual integral explicitly:ConsequentlyThe global projected virial estimate of a mass-to-light ratio is independent of the velocity-anisotropy parameter under these assumptions. It does not remove the mass--anisotropy--density degeneracy for arbitrary radial mass profiles. In particular, if an independent dark matter halo makes mass fail to follow light, a single constant ${\rm Y}$ is no longer the physical enclosed mass-to-light ratio at every radius.

With the convention in the question, the constant velocity-anisotropy parameter is $\beta =1-{\sigma }_t^2/{\sigma }_r^2$. Since $V_c^2=rd\Phi /dr$, the Spherical Jeans equation becomesFor $\nu ={\nu }_0{r}^{-\alpha }$ and $V_c^2=V_0^2{r}^{2\gamma }$, its general integrating factor solution isThe homogeneous term represents a boundary pressure. For an extended scale-free system the physical boundary condition normally removes it, leavingPositivity requires $\alpha -2\beta -2\gamma >0$. A complete physical model must also have a nonnegative galactic distribution function and sensible inner and outer boundary behaviour; for example, strong radial anisotropy is restricted by density-slope--anisotropy inequalities.

Observationally, the tracer density can be estimated from star counts only after correcting distances, extinction, survey selection, and incompleteness. Spectroscopy supplies mainly line-of-sight velocities; proper motions add transverse information but become less precise for distant halo stars. The equation shows the mass--anisotropy--density degeneracy directly: the same measured ${\sigma }_r$ can result from a larger $V_c$, a steeper tracer slope $\alpha$, or a different $\beta$. Even globally constant power laws therefore do not determine the galactic mass profile unless some of these quantities are independently constrained.

If $\alpha$, $\beta$, or $\gamma$ changes near a break radius, the solution at one radius also depends on the outer boundary integral. A break in observed dispersion may be attributed to a mass-profile feature, a tracer-density break, or a change in orbital anisotropy. Separate tracer populations, full three-dimensional velocities, higher velocity moments, and measurements over a wide radial range help break this degeneracy.

More flexible alternatives model a nonnegative solution of the Collisionless Boltzmann equation itself. An action-based galactic distribution function gives an analytic or parametrized $f(\mathbf{J})$; a Schwarzschild orbit-superposition model assigns nonnegative weights to an orbit library; and a made-to-measure stellar-dynamical model adjusts particle weights to reproduce observations. These methods retain more phase-space information than Jeans moments, although their flexibility introduces model choices and regularization.