Conformal vectors and stellar models

The relationship between conformal symmetries and relativistic spheres in astrophysics is studied. We use the nonvanishing components of the Weyl tensor to classify the conformal symmetries in static spherical spacetimes. It is possible to find an explicit connection between the two gravitational potentials for both conformally flat and nonconformally flat cases. We show that the conformal Killing vector admits time dependence in terms of quadratic, trigonometric and hyperbolic functions. The Einstein and Einstein-Maxwell field equations can be written in terms of a single potential, any choice of which leads to an exact solution. Previous results of conformally invariant static spheres are contained in our treatment.