Dynamics of the Galactic Globular Cluster NGC 3201

BV CCD frames have been used to derive surface brightness profiles for NGC 3201 which extend out to ∼18'. A total of 857 radial velocities with median precision ≃1 km s-1 for 399 member giants have been used to trace the velocity dispersion profile out to 32'.1 (the approximate tidal radius determined from fits of single-mass, isotropic King-Michie models to the cluster surface brightness profiles). The median difference in radial velocity for stars on either side of an imaginary axis stepped through the cluster in 1° increments shows a statistically significant maximum amplitude of 1.22±0.25 km s-1. We discuss several possible explanations of this result, including (1) cluster rotation, (2) preferential stripping of stars on prograde orbits near the limiting radius, (3) the projection of the cluster space velocity onto the plane of the sky, and (4) a slight drift in the velocity zero point. It is difficult to unambiguously identify the primary cause of the observed structure in the velocity field, however, and we suspect that all of the above processes may play a role. The BV surface brightness profiles and radial velocities have been modeled with both single- and multimass King-Michie models and nonparametric techniques. The corresponding density profiles and M/L profiles show good agreement over the interval 1.5 ≲ R ≲ 10 pc, and both approaches suggest a steady rise in M/L with distance from the cluster center. Due to the low cluster luminosity we are unable to place useful constraints on the anisotropy of the velocity dispersion profile, although the global mass-to-light ratio is well constrained by the models: M/LB ≌ M/Lv ≌ 2.0±0.2 for the multimass and nonparametric models, compared to ≌1.65±0.15 for models having equal-mass stars. Our best-fit, multimass models have mass function slopes of x ≌0.75±0.25, consistent with recent findings that the form of the mass function depends on the position relative to the potential of the Galaxy.