Criteria for (in)finite extent of static perfect fluids

Abstract

In Newton's and in Einstein's theory we give criteria on the equation of state of a barotropic perfect fluid which guarantee that the corresponding one-parameter family of static, spherically symmetric solutions has finite extent. These criteria are closely related to ones which are known to ensure finite or infinite extent of the fluid region if the assumption of spherical symmetry is replaced by certain asymptotic falloff conditions on the solutions. We improve this result by relaxing the asymptotic asumptions. Our conditions on the equation of state are also related to (but less restrictive than) ones under which it has been shown in Relativity that static, asymptotically flat fluid solutions are spherically symmetric. We present all these results in a unified way.