Radiating stars with generalised Vaidya atmospheres.

We model the gravitational behaviour of a radiating star when the exterior geometry is the generalised Vaidya spacetime. The interior matter distribution is shear-free and undergoing radial heat flow. The exterior energy momentum tensor is a superposition of a null fluid and a string fluid. An analysis of the junction conditions at the stellar surface shows that the pressure at the boundary depends on the interior heat flux and the exterior string density. The results for a relativistic radiating star undergoing nonadiabatic collapse are obtained as a special case. For a particular model we demonstrate that the radiating fluid sphere collapses without the appearance of the horizon at the boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]