The equation-of-state (EOS) parameter $\varphi \equiv P/ϵ$, defined as the ratio of pressure to energy density, encapsulates the fundamental response of matter under extreme compression. Its value at the center of the most massive neutron star (NS), $\mathrm{X}\equiv P_{\mathrm{c}}/{ϵ}_{\mathrm{c}}$, provides an upper bound on the maximum attainable central EOS parameter of cold visible matter. Remarkably, owing to the intrinsically nonlinear structure of the EOS in general relativity (GR), this bound lies far below the naive special relativity (SR) limit of unity. In this work, we refine the theoretical upper bound on $\mathrm{X}$ in a self-consistent manner by incorporating, in addition to the causality constraint from SR, the mass-sphere stability condition associated with the mass evolution pattern in the vicinity of the NS center. This condition is formulated within the intrinsic and perturbative analysis of the dimensionless Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equations (IPAD-TOV) framework. The combined constraints yield an improved bound, $\mathrm{X}\lesssim 0.385$, which is slightly above but fully consistent with the previously derived causal-only limit, $\mathrm{X}\lesssim 0.374$. We further derive an improved scaling relation for NS compactness and demonstrate its robustness across a broad set of 284 realistic EOSs, including models with first-order phase transitions, exotic degrees of freedom, continuous crossover behavior, and deconfined quark cores. Within the IPAD-TOV framework, the resulting bound on $\mathrm{X}$ provides a new EOS-insensitive probe of the microphysics of cold superdense matter compressed by strong-field gravity in GR.

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• General relativity
• Nuclear astrophysics
• Nuclear matter in neutron stars