Asteroseismology of Massive Stars : Some Words of Caution

TL;DR

This paper discusses the uncertainties in modeling massive star evolution and explores how asteroseismology can help clarify their internal structures and convection zones.

Contribution

It highlights key questions about massive star internal structure and demonstrates the potential of asteroseismology to address these uncertainties.

Findings

Asteroseismology can provide insights into the extent of mixed regions.

Structural differences may arise from different convection criteria.

Locating convective zone boundaries is feasible with seismic data.

Abstract

Although playing a key role in the understanding of the supernova phenomenon, the evolution of massive stars still suffers from uncertainties in their structure, even during their "quiet" main sequence phase and later on during their subgiant and helium burning phases. What is the extent of the mixed central region? In the local mixing length theory (LMLT) frame, are there structural differences using Schwarzschild or Ledoux convection criterion? Where are located the convective zone boundaries? Are there intermediate convection zones during MS and post-MS phase, and what is their extent and location? We discuss these points and show how asteroseismology could bring some light on these questions.