EN
We show that the essential spectral radius $ϱ_{e}(T)$ of T ∈ B(H) can be calculated by the formula $ϱ_{e}(T)$ = inf{$ℱ_{♯·♯}(XTX^{-1})$: X an invertible operator}, where $ℱ_{♯·♯}(T)$ is a Φ₁-perturbation function introduced by Mbekhta [J. Operator Theory 51 (2004)]. Also, we show that if $𝒢_{♯·♯}(T)$ is a Φ₂-perturbation function [loc. cit.] and if T is a Fredholm operator, then $dist(0,σ_{e}(T))$ = sup{$𝒢_{♯·♯}(XTX^{-1})$: X an invertible operator}.