GRAVITATIONAL COLLAPSE OF SPHERICALLY SYMMETRIC ANISOTROPIC FLUID WITH HOMOTHETIC SELF-SIMILARITY

Abstract

We study spacetimes of spherically symmetric anisotropic fluid with homothetic self-similarity. We find a class of solutions to the Einstein field equations by assuming that the tangential pressure of the fluid is proportional to its radial one and that the fluid moves along time-like geodesics. The energy conditions, and geometrical and physical properties of these solutions are studied and found that some of them represent gravitational collapse of an anisotropic fluid.