Star equilibrium: from BNG to TOV

Abstract We study the role of the equilibrium equation in bootstrapped Newtonian gravity (BNG) by including terms inspired by the post-Newtonian expansion of the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkov (TOV) equation. We then compare (approximate) BNG solutions for homogenous stars with their Newtonian and General Relativistic exact solutions. Regardless of the additional terms from the conservation equation, BNG stars do not exhibit a Buchdahl limit. However, specific extra terms added to this equation can cause the pressure to become negative inside stars with compactness smaller than the critical values for BNG black hole formation.