Perfect fluid metrics conformal to the Schwarzschild exterior spacetime

Abstract

We construct perfect fluid spacetimes by performing a conformal transformation on a non-conformally flat vacuum solution, namely the Schwarzschild exterior metric. It should be noted that conformally Ricci flat perfect fluid solutions, except those that are conformally flat, are rarely reported explicitly. In this article it is demonstrated that perfect fluid metrics conformal to the Schwarzschild exterior line element are necessarily static. The Einstein field equations for the static case reduce to a fully determined system of three differential equations in three unknowns and the conformal factor is uniquely determined in closed form. The solution is analysed for physical plausibility by establishing the positivity of the energy density and pressure profiles graphically. Additionally, the solution is observed to be causal in an appropriate limit and both the energy density and pressure is shown to be decreasing outwards towards the boundary. Finally, the weak, strong and dominant energy conditions are found to be satisfied in the region under investigation. Accordingly, the most common elementary physical conditions are met and the model is seen to be suitable for a core-envelope stellar model.