Relativistic charged spheres: compact stars, compactness and stable configurations

Abstract

This paper aims to explore a class of static stellar equilibrium configuration of relativistic charged spheres made of a charged perfect fluid. For solving the Einstein-Maxwell field equations, we consider a particularized metric potential, Buchdahl ansatz [1] and then by using a simple transformation. The study is developed by matching the interior region with Riessner-Nordström metric as an exterior solution. The matter content the charged sphere satisfies all the energy conditions and hydrostatic equilibrium equation, i.e. the modified Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) equation for the charged case is maintained. In addition to this, we also discuss some important properties of the charged sphere such as total electric charge, mass-radius relation, surface redshift, and the speed of sound. Obtained solutions are presented by the graphical representation that provides strong evidence for a more realistic and viable stellar structure. Obtained results are compared with analogue objects with similar mass and radii, such as SAX J1808.4-3658, 4U 1538-52, PSR J1903+327, Vela X-1, and 4U1608-52. It is also noted that the Buchdahl ansatz for a given transformation provides a physically viable solution only for the charged case when 0 < K < 1, where density and pressure are maximum at the center and monotonically decreasing towards the boundary. Obtained results are also quite important both from theoretical and astrophysical scale to analyze other compact objects such as white dwarfs, neutron stars, boson stars, and quark stars.