A remark on the geometry of uniformly rotating stars

Abstract

In this paper we classify the free boundary associated to equilibrium configurations of compressible, self-gravitating fluid masses, rotating with constant angular velocity. The equilibrium configurations are all critical points of an associated functional and not necessarily minimizers. Our methods also apply to alternative models in the literature where the angular momentum per unit mass is prescribed. The typical physical model our results apply to is that of uniformly rotating white dwarf stars. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.