Convective core size determination using asteroseismic data

TL;DR

This paper explores how asteroseismic data can be used to detect the presence and size of convective cores in low-mass stars by analyzing oscillation frequency patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a method to identify convective core signatures in stellar oscillation frequencies using specific frequency combinations.

Findings

Detection of convective core signatures in simulated asteroseismic data

Identification of frequency combinations sensitive to core size

Potential application to observational data for stellar characterization

Abstract

As it is long known, the presence of a convective region creates a discontinuity in the chemical profile of a star, which in turn translates into a sharp variation of the adiabatic sound speed. This variation produces an oscillatory behavior of the pulsation frequencies, to which low degree p-modes are sensitive. We investigate the possibility of detecting the signature related to the presence of a convective core in the frequency spectrum of low-mass stars by means of suitable frequency combinations (such as separations and ratios)