Journal of Applied Mathematics
Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 196385, 12 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/196385
Research Article

Conformal Mappings in Relativistic Astrophysics

Astrophysics and Cosmology Research Unit, School of Mathematics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa

Received 1 March 2013; Accepted 10 June 2013

Academic Editor: Md Sazzad Chowdhury

Copyright © 2013 S. Hansraj et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

We describe the use of conformal mappings as a mathematical mechanism to obtain exact solutions of the Einstein field equations in general relativity. The behaviour of the spacetime geometry quantities is given under a conformal transformation, and the Einstein field equations are exhibited for a perfect fluid distribution matter configuration. The field equations are simplified and then exact static and nonstatic solutions are found. We investigate the solutions as candidates to represent realistic distributions of matter. In particular, we consider the positive definiteness of the energy density and pressure and the causality criterion, as well as the existence of a vanishing pressure hypersurface to mark the boundary of the astrophysical fluid.