Internal mixing of rotating stars inferred from dipole gravity modes

Abstract

During most of their life, stars fuse hydrogen into helium in their cores. The mixing of chemical elements in the radiative envelope of stars with a convective core is able to replenish the core with extra fuel. If effective, such deep mixing allows stars to live longer and change their evolutionary path. Yet localized observations to constrain internal mixing are absent so far. Gravity modes probe the deep stellar interior near the convective core and allow us to calibrate internal mixing processes. Here we provide core-to-surface mixing profiles inferred from observed dipole gravity modes in 26 rotating stars with masses between 3 and 10 solar masses. We find a wide range of internal mixing levels across the sample. Stellar models with stratified mixing profiles in the envelope reveal the best asteroseismic performance. Our results provide observational guidance for three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of transport processes in the deep interiors of stars.Kepler space telescope observations of 26 intermediate-mass rotating stars (slowly pulsating B-type stars) are analysed to isolate the gravity modes that probe the stars' deep interiors. Internal mixing levels are unexpectedly varied and best reproduced with models incorporating radially stratified mixing profiles.