Modified Finch and Skea stellar model compatible with observational data

We present a new class of solutions to the Einstein's field equations corresponding to a static spherically symmetric anisotropic system by generalizing the ansatz of Finch and Skea [Class. Quantum Grav. 6 (1989) 467] for the gravitational potential $g_{rr}$. The anisotropic stellar model previously studied by Sharma and Ratanpal (2013) [Int. J. Mod. Phy. D 13 (2013) 1350074] is a sub-class of the solutions provided here. Based on physical requirements, regularity conditions and stability, we prescribe bounds on the model parameters. By systematically fixing values of the model parameters within the prescribed bound, we demonstrate that our model is compatible with the observed masses and radii of a wide variety of compact stars like 4U 1820-30, PSR J1903+327, 4U 1608-52, Vela X-1, PSR J1614-2230, SAX J1808.4-3658 and Her X-1.