  We present a method for recovering the distribution functions of edge-on thin
axisymmetric disks directly from their observable kinematic properties. The
most generally observable properties of such a stellar system are the
line-of-sight velocity distributions of the stars at different projected radii
along the galaxy. If the gravitational potential is known, then the general
two-integral distribution function can be reconstructed using the shapes of the
high-velocity tails of these line-of-sight distributions. If the wrong
gravitational potential is adopted, then a distribution function can still be
constructed using this technique, but the low-velocity parts of the observed
velocity distributions will not be reproduced by the derived dynamical model.
Thus, the gravitational potential is also tightly constrained by the observed
kinematics.
