Compact stars with linear equation of state in isotropic coordinates

Abstract

We present a new class of spherically symmetric spacetimes for matter distributions with anisotropic pressures in the presence of an electric field. The equation of state for the matter distribution is linear. A class of new exact solutions is found to the Einstein-Maxwell system of equations with an isotropic form of the line element. We achieve this by specifying particular forms for one of the gravitational potentials and the electric field intensity. We regain the masses of the stars PSR J1614-2230, Vela X-1, PSR J1903+327, 4U 1820-30 and SAX J1808.4-3658 for particular parameter values. A detailed physical analysis for the star PSR J1614-2230 indicates that the model is well behaved.