A new form of the C-metric

The usual form of the C-metric has the structure function G(xi) = 1-xi(2) - 2mAxi(3), whose cubic nature can make calculations cumbersome, especially when explicit expressions for its roots are required. In, this paper, we propose a new form of the C-metric, with the explicitly factorizable structure function G(xi) = (1 - xi(2))(1 + 2mAxi). Although this form is related to the usual one by a coordinate transformation, it has the advantage that its roots are now trivial to write down. We show that this leads to potential simplifications, for example, when casting the C-metric in Weyl coordinates. These results also extend to the charged C-metric, whose structure function can be written in. a new form G(xi) = (1-xi(2)) (1 + r(+)Axi) (1 + r-Axi), where r+/- are the usual locations of the horizons in the Reissner-Nordstrom solution. As a by-product, we explicitly cast the extremally charged C-metric in Weyl coordinates.