Models of elliptical galaxies: NGC 3379, 4261, 4278 and 4472

We investigate whether the observed kinematics and surface photometry for the elliptical E1/E2 galaxies NGC3379, 4261, 4278 and 4472 can be modelled under the assumptions of (i) axisymmetry, (ii) a distribution function of the form f f(E,Lz) and (iii) constant mass-to-light ratio. Models satisfying the above assumptions fit the observations of all four galaxies remarkably well. For all galaxies, the rotation curves rule out isotropic velocity dispersion tensors. However, an excellent fit to the data can usually be obtained by including a measure velocity of anisotropy. (author)