Static charged perfect fluid spheres in general relativity

Interior perfect fluid solutions for the Reissner-Nordström metric are studied on the basis of a new classification scheme. It specifies which two of the characteristics of the fluid are given functions and accordingly picks up one of the three main field equations, the other two being universal. General formulas are found for charged de Sitter solutions, the case of a constant energy component of the energy-momentum tensor, the case of known pressure (including charged dust), and the case of a linear equation of state. Explicit new global solutions, mainly in elementary functions, are given as illustrations. The known solutions are briefly reviewed and corrected.