  The non-relativistic model of nuclear matter with zero-range Skyrme
interactions is employed within a Bayesian approach in order to study the
behavior of neutron stars (NSs) equation of state (EOS). A minimal number of
constraints from nuclear physics and ab initio calculations of pure neutron
matter (PNM) are imposed together with causality and a lower limit on the
maximum mass of NS to all our models. Our key result is that accounting for
correlations among the values that the energy per neutron in PNM takes at
various densities, and that are typically disregarded, efficiently constrains
the behavior of the EOS at high densities. A series of global NS properties,
e.g., maximum mass, central density of the maximum mass configuration, minimum
NS mass that allows for direct URCA, radii of intermediate and massive NS,
appear to be correlated with the value of effective neutron mass in PNM at 0.16
fm$^{-3}$. Together with similar studies in the literature our work contributes
to a better understanding of the NS EOS as well as its link with the properties
of dense nuclear matter.
