We study static spherically symmetric spacetimes with a spherical conformal symmetry and a nonstatic conformal factor associated with the conformal Killing field. With these assumptions we find an explicit relationship relating two metric components of the metric tensor field. This leads to the general solution of the Einstein field equations with a conformal symmetry in a static spherically symmetric spacetime. For perfect fluids we can find all metrics explicitly and show that the models always admit a barotropic equation of state. Contained within this class of spacetimes are the well known metrics of (interior) Schwarzschild, Tolman, Kuchowicz, Korkina and Orlyanskii, Patwardhan and Vaidya, and Buchdahl and Land. The isothermal metric of Saslaw et al also admits a conformal symmetry. For imperfect fluids an infinite family of exact solutions to the field equations can be generated.

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We investigate the conformal geometry of spherically symmetric spacetimes in general without specifying the form of the matter distribution. The general conformal Killing symmetry is obtained subject to a number of integrability conditions. Previous results relating to static spacetimes are shown to be a special case of our solution. The general inheriting conformal symmetry vector, which maps fluid flow lines conformally onto fluid flow lines, is generated and the integrability conditions are shown to be satisfied. We show that there exists a hypersurface orthogonal conformal Killing vector in an exact solution of Einstein's equations for a relativistic fluid which is expanding, accelerating and shearing.

We consider spherical exact models for compact stars with anisotropic pressures and a conformal symmetry. The conformal symmetry condition generates an integral relationship between the gravitational potentials. We solve this condition to find a new anisotropic solution to the Einstein field equations. We demonstrate that the exact solution produces a relativistic model of a compact star. The model generates stellar radii and masses consistent with PSR J1614-2230, Vela X1, PSR J1903+327 and Cen X-3. A detailed physical examination shows that the model is regular, well behaved and stable. The mass-radius limit and the surface red shift are consistent with observational constraints.

We study the complete conformal geometry of shear-free spacetimes with spherical symmetry and do not specify the form of the matter content. The general conformal Killing symmetry is solved and we can explicitly exhibit the vector. The existence of a conformal symmetry places restrictions on the model. The conditions on the gravitational potentials are expressed as a system of integrability conditions. Timelike sectors and inheriting conformal symmetry vectors, which map fluid flow lines conformally onto fluid flow lines, are generated and the integrability conditions are shown to be satisfied. As an example, a spacetime, which is expanding and accelerating, is identified which contains a spherically symmetric conformal symmetry.