During most of their life, stars fuse hydrogen into helium in their cores. Mixing of chemical elements in the radiative envelope of stars with a convective

We propose a methodological framework to perform forward asteroseismic modeling of stars with a convective core, based on gravity-mode oscillations. These probe the near-core region in the deep stellar interior. The modeling relies on a set of observed high-precision oscillation frequencies of lowdegree coherent gravity modes with long lifetimes and their observational uncertainties. Identification of the mode degree and azimuthal order is assumed to be achieved from rotational splitting and/or from period spacing patterns. This paper has two major outcomes. The first is a comprehensive list and discussion of the major uncertainties of theoretically predicted gravity-mode oscillation frequencies based on linear pulsation theory, caused by fixing choices of the input physics for evolutionary models. Guided by a hierarchy among these uncertainties of theoretical frequencies, we subsequently provide a global methodological scheme to achieve forward asteroseismic modeling. We properly take into account correlations amongst the free parameters included in stellar models. Aside from the stellar mass, metalicity and age, the major parameters to be estimated are the near-core rotation rate, the amount of convective core overshooting, and the level of chemical mixing in the radiative zones. This modeling scheme allows for maximum likelihood estimation of the stellar parameters for fixed input physics of the equilibrium models, followed by stellar model selection considering various choices of the input physics. Our approach uses the Mahalanobis distance instead of the often used χ 2 statistic and includes heteroscedasticity. It provides estimation of the unknown variance of the theoretically predicted oscillation frequencies.

Almost all massive stars explode as supernovae and form a black hole or neutron star. The remnant mass and the impact of the chemical yield on subsequent star formation and galactic evolution strongly depend on the internal physics of the progenitor star, which is currently not well understood. The theoretical uncertainties of stellar interiors accumulate with stellar age, which is particularly pertinent for the blue supergiant phase. Stellar oscillations represent a unique method of probing stellar interiors, yet inference for blue supergiants is hampered by a dearth of observed pulsation modes. Here we report the detection of diverse variability in blue supergiants using the K2 and TESS space missions. The discovery of pulsation modes or an entire spectrum of low-frequency gravity waves in these stars allow us to map the evolution of hot massive stars towards the ends of their lives. Future asteroseismic modelling will provide constraints on ages, core masses, interior mixing, rotation and angular momentum transport. The discovery of variability in blue supergiants is a step towards a data-driven empirical calibration of theoretical evolution models for the most massive stars in the Universe.Stars born with masses larger than approximately eight times the mass of the Sun play a significant role in the evolution of galaxies. They are the chemical factories that produce and expel heavy elements through their wind and when they end their lives as supernovae and form a black hole or neutron star 1-3 . However, the chemical yields that enrich the interstellar medium and the remnant mass strongly depend on the progenitor star's interior properties 4 . The detectable progenitors of supernovae include blue supergiant stars, which are hot massive stars in a shell-hydrogen or core-helium burning stage of stellar evolution. Stellar evolution models of these post-main sequence stars contain by far the largest uncertainties in stellar astrophysics, as observational constraints on interior mixing, rotation and angular momentum transport are missing. These phenomena are further compounded when coupled with mass loss, binarity and magnetic fields 1-3 . Across astrophysics, from star formation to galactic evolution, it is imperative to calibrate theoretical models of massive stars using observations because they determine the evolution of the cosmos.A unique methodology for probing stellar interiors is asteroseismology 5 , which -similarly to seismology of earthquakes -uses oscillations to derive constraints on the structure of stars.The study of stellar interiors of low-mass stars like the Sun has undergone a revolution in

Context. Eclipsing, spectroscopic double-lined binary star systems (SB2) are excellent laboratories for calibrating theories of stellar interior structure and evolution. Their precise and accurate masses and radii measured from binary dynamics offer model-independent constraints and challenge current theories of stellar evolution. Aims. We aim to investigate the mass discrepancy in binary stars. This is the significant difference between stellar components' masses measured from binary dynamics and those inferred from models of stellar evolution via positions of the components in the T eff -log g Kiel diagram. We study the effect of near-core mixing on the mass of the convective core of the stars and interpret the results in the context of the mass discrepancy. Methods. We fit stellar isochrones computed from a grid of mesa stellar evolution models to a homogeneous sample of eleven highmass binary systems. Two scenarios are considered, where individual stellar components of a binary system are treated independent of each other and where they are forced to have the same age and initial chemical composition. We also study the effect of the microturbulent velocity and turbulent pressure on the atmosphere model structure and stellar spectral lines, and its link with the mass discrepancy.Results. We find that the mass discrepancy is present in our sample and that it is anti-correlated with the surface gravity of the star. No correlations are found with other fundamental and atmospheric parameters, including the stellar mass. The mass discrepancy can be partially accounted for by increasing the amount of near-core mixing in stellar evolution models. We also find that ignoring the microturbulent velocity and turbulent pressure in stellar atmosphere models of hot evolved stars results in overestimation of their effective temperature by up to 8%. Together with enhanced near-core mixing, this can almost entirely account for the ∼30% mass discrepancy found for the evolved primary component of V380 Cyg. Conclusions. We find a strong link between the mass discrepancy and the convective core mass. The mass discrepancy can be solved by considering the combined effect of extra near-core boundary mixing and consistent treatment in the spectrum analysis of hot evolved stars. Our binary modelling results in convective core masses between 17 and 35% of the stellar mass, in excellent agreement with results from gravity-mode asteroseismology of single stars. This implies larger helium core masses near the end of the main sequence than anticipated so far.

Context. The lack of high-precision long-term continuous photometric data for large samples of stars has impeded the large-scale exploration of pulsational variability in the OB star regime. As a result, the candidates for in-depth asteroseismic modelling have remained limited to a few dozen dwarfs. The TESS nominal space mission has surveyed the southern sky, including parts of the galactic plane, yielding continuous data across at least 27 d for hundreds of OB stars. Aims. We aim to couple TESS data in the southern sky with ground-based spectroscopy to study the variability in two dimensions, mass and evolution. We focus mainly on the presence of coherent pulsation modes that may or may not be present in the predicted theoretical instability domains and unravel all frequency behaviour in the amplitude spectra of the TESS data. Methods. We compose a sample of 98 OB-type stars observed by TESS in Sectors 1–13 and with available multi-epoch, high-resolution spectroscopy gathered by the IACOB and OWN surveys. We present the short-cadence 2 min light curves of dozens of OB-type stars, which have one or more spectra in the IACOB or OWN database. Based on these light curves and their Lomb–Scargle periodograms, we performed variability classification and frequency analysis. We placed the stars in the spectroscopic Hertzsprung–Russell diagram to interpret the variability in an evolutionary context. Results. We deduce the diverse origins of the mmag-level variability found in all of the 98 OB stars in the TESS data. We find among the sample several new variable stars, including three hybrid pulsators, three eclipsing binaries, high frequency modes in a Be star, and potential heat-driven pulsations in two Oe stars. Conclusions. We identify stars for which future asteroseismic modelling is possible, provided mode identification is achieved. By comparing the position of the variables to theoretical instability strips, we discuss the current shortcomings in non-adiabatic pulsation theory and the distribution of pulsators in the upper Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

Aims. We investigate from a theoretical perspective if space asteroseismology can be used to distinguish between different thermal structures and shapes of the near-core mixing profiles for different types of coherent oscillation modes in massive stars with convective cores; we also examine whether this capacity depends on the evolutionary stage of the models along the main sequence. Methods. We computed 1D stellar structure and evolution models for four different prescriptions of the mixing and temperature gradient in the near-core region. We investigated their effect on the frequencies of dipole prograde gravity modes in slowly pulsating B stars and in β Cep stars as well as pressure modes in β Cep stars. Results. A comparison between the mode frequencies of the different models at various stages during the main sequence evolution reveals that they are more sensitive to a change in temperature gradient than to the exact shape of the mixing profile in the near-core region. Depending on the duration of the observed light curve, we can distinguish between either just the temperature gradient, or also between the shapes of the mixing coefficient. The relative frequency differences are in general larger for more evolved models and are largest for the higher frequency pressure modes in β Cep stars. Conclusions. In order to unravel the core boundary mixing and thermal structure of the near-core region, we must have asteroseismic masses and radii with ∼ 1% relative precision for hundreds of stars.

Aims. We investigated the thermal and chemical structure in the near-core region of stars with a convective core by means of gravito-inertial modes. We determined the probing power of different asteroseismic observables and fitting methodologies. We focus on the case of the B-type star KIC 7760680, rotating at a quarter of its critical rotation velocity. Methods. We computed grids of 1D stellar structure and evolution models for two different prescriptions of the temperature gradient and mixing profile in the near-core region. We determined which of these prescriptions is preferred according to the prograde dipole modes detected in 4 yr Kepler photometry of KIC 7760680. We considered different sets of asteroseismic observables and compared the outcomes of the regression problem for a χ2 and a Mahalanobis distance merit function, where the latter takes into account realistic uncertainties for the theoretical predictions and the former does not. Results. Period spacings of modes with consecutive radial order offer a better diagnostic than mode periods or mode frequencies for asteroseismic modelling of stars revealing only high-order gravito-inertial modes. We find KIC 7760680 to reveal a radiative temperature gradient in models with convective boundary mixing, but less complex models without such mixing are statistically preferred for this rotating star, revealing extremely low vertical envelope mixing. Conclusions. Our results strongly suggest the use of measured individual period spacing values for modes of consecutive radial order as an asteroseismic diagnostic for stellar modelling of B-type pulsators with gravito-inertial modes.

Questions: Are there interspecific differences in resprouting after cutting and burning among woody species encroaching temperate grasslands? Are alien woody species more successful than natives in their resprouting after the two treatments proposed to control shrub encroachment? Is resprouting influenced by age of the individuals? Does resprouting differ between cutting and burning?Location: Temperate grasslands encroached by shrubs, Transylvania, Romania. Methods:We investigated the resprouting after cutting or burning of four shrub species (Cornus sanguinea, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa and Rosa canina) encroaching grasslands in field sites 3 yr following treatments. We compared the resprouting ability of shrubs between species and treatments and analysed the relationship between the number of resprouts and stump diameter, as a proxy for age. In a common garden experiment on 1-yr-old individuals we compared resprouting after cutting and burning between three native (C. sanguinea, C. monogyna and P. spinosa) and three alien woody species (Ailanthus altissima, Elaeagnus angustifolia and Hippophae rhamnoides) during one growing season.Results: C. monogyna produced the largest number of resprouts in the field study, and H. rhamnoides in the experimental study. Overall, resprouting ability of alien woody species did not differ from that of natives. In the field study, we found an increasing number of resprouts with increasing stump diameter, and the rate of increase in the number of resprouts was highest in C. monogyna. We detected no difference in the resprouting of woody species between cutting and burning treatments either in the field or in the experimental study. Conclusions:Our study suggests that the success of encroachment control in grasslands does not depend on treatment type, but on the woody species composition and age of individuals. Grasslands encroached by C. monogyna or H. rhamnoides will be more labour-intensive to restore and maintain free of shrubs. Restoration measures should be implemented in the early stage of shrub encroachment since younger shrubs have lower resprouting ability. Burning and cutting may be equally effective in controlling shrub encroachment, but treatments should be more intensive than in the current study in order to damage the resprouting buds and arrest resprouting.