A new and quite general existence proof for static and spherically symmetric perfect fluid stars in general relativity

Abstract

In comparison to previous existence proofs for static and spherically symmetric perfect fluid stars in general relativity the new proof applies to a more general class of equations of state. In the star's interior we allow for piecewise Lipschitz continuous functions, including in this way the physically important case of phase transitions. Near the star's surface we allow for even more general functions, thereby including a large class of polytropic equations of state. Furthermore, the proof technique proceeds along standard techniques of functional analysis (Banach's fixed point theorem), and therefore applies in a similar manner to static stars in Newtonian gravity, and perhaps to rotating Newtonian and Einsteinian stars. In detail, the Einstein field equations for static perfect fluid stars are transformed to a system of coupled nonlinear integral equations being valid equally in the matter region and in the vacuum exterior. These integral equations are interpreted as a mapping in a Banach space. With the standard iteration technique, beginning with appropriate start functions, it is proven that the mapping has a unique fixed point, and that the solutions have appropriate regularity properties determined by the properties of the equation of state. The introduction gives an overview of earlier work on such systems, on the question of sphericity of static fluid stars, and on possible extensions of the above methods to rotating Newtonian and Einsteinian stars. An outlook addresses the question whether our proof method may be extensible to piecewise Hölder continuous equations of state.