First Integrals of Shear-Free Fluids and Complexity

A single master equation governs the behaviour of shear-free neutral perfect fluid distributions arising in gravity theories. In this paper, we study the integrability of [Formula: see text] find new solutions, and generate a new first integral. The first integral is subject to an integrability condition which is an integral equation which restricts the function [Formula: see text] We find that the integrability condition can be written as a third order differential equation whose solution can be expressed in terms of elementary functions and elliptic integrals. The solution of the integrability condition is generally given parametrically. A particular form of [Formula: see text] which corresponds to repeated roots of a cubic equation is given explicitly, which is a new result. Our investigation demonstrates that complexity of a self-gravitating shear-free fluid is related to the existence of a first integral, and this may be extendable to general matter distributions.