Scale invariant elastic stars in General Relativity

Abstract

We present a model of relativistic elastic stars featuring scale invariance. This implies a linear mass-radius relation and the absence of a maximum mass. The most compact spherically symmetric configuration that is radially stable and satisfies all energy and causality conditions has a slightly smaller radius than the Schwarzschild light ring radius. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first material compact object with such remarkable properties in General Relativity, which makes it a unique candidate for a black-hole mimicker.