We compute the equation of state for an ensemble of degenerate fermions by
using the curved spacetime of a slowly rotating axially symmetric star. We show
that the equation of state computed in such curved spacetime depends on the
gravitational time dilation as well as on the dragging of inertial frames,
unlike an equation of state computed in a globally flat spacetime. The effect
of gravitational time dilation leads to a significant enhancement of the
maximum mass limit of a degenerate neutron star. However, such an enhancement
due to the frame-dragging effect is extremely small. Nevertheless, in general
relativity the frame-dragging effect is crucial for computing angular momentum
of the star which is also shown to be enhanced significantly due to the usage
of curved spacetime in computing the equation of state.
