Matching conditions in relativistic astrophysics

Abstract

We present an exact electrovacuum solution of Einstein-Maxwell equations with infinite sets of multipole moments which can be used to describe the exterior gravitational field of a rotating charged mass distribution. We show that in the special case of a slowly rotating and slightly deformed body, the exterior solution can be matched to an interior solution belonging to the Hartle-Thorne family of approximate solutions. To search for exact interior solutions, we propose to use the derivatives of the curvature eigenvalues to formulate a $C^3-$matching condition from which the minimum radius can be derived at which the matching of interior and exterior spacetimes can be carried out. We prove the validity of the $C^3-$matching in the particular case of a static mass with a quadrupole moment. The corresponding interior solution is obtained numerically and the matching with the exterior solution gives as a result the minimum radius of the mass configuration.