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Role of shear in general-relativistic cosmological and stellar models

Journal Article · · Phys. Rev. D; (United States)

We investigate the class of shear-free expanding (or contracting) irrotational perfect fluids obeying an equation of state p = p(..mu..) and satisfying the field equations of general relativity. It is shown that these space-times are either Friedmann-Robertson-Walker, or spherically symmetric Wyman solutions, or a special class of plane-symmetric models. This last class, which is given in exact form, is apparently new; the metrics are locally either spatially or temporally homogeneous. We show that the spherically symmetric Wyman solutions and the new class of plane-symmetric models are inconsistent with the additional requirement of a comoving surface of zero pressure, and thereby obtain a coordinate-free proof and a generalization of a result of Mansouri, concerning shear-free spherically symmetric gravitational collapse. Some properties of our solutions, and further generalizations of our results, are considered.

Research Organization:
Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
OSTI ID:
6240465
Journal Information:
Phys. Rev. D; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. D; (United States) Vol. 27:6; ISSN PRVDA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English