The effect of near-core mixing on rejuvenation and the asteroseismic properties of massive accretors

Abstract

The relatively recent revelation of the high occurrence rate of binary interactions, especially in intermediate- and high-mass systems, has prompted multiple investigations into their asteroseismic imprints. The near-core region just outside the convective cores of mass-accreting early-type main-sequence stars in binaries has been theorised to be sensitive to assumptions about mixing (notably semiconvection) and accretion physics. In turn, the predicted asteroseismic properties depend strongly on the physical properties of this near-core region. We explore how robust the previously identified asteroseismic imprints of mass accretion are to changes in semiconvective mixing. Using one-dimensional stellar structure and evolution models, this parameter study shows the dominant effect of convective boundary mixing on rejuvenation and the post-accretion asteroseismic properties. The recovered seismic imprint, largely robust to variations in semiconvective mixing efficiency, changes drastically when convective boundary mixing is not included in the models. We find that the post-accretion thermal relaxation is key in determining the final near-core structure and the asteroseismic imprint of accretion. We reaffirm the potential of Fourier transforms of period spacing patterns to quantify the effects of different near-core mixing and accretion-rate assumptions on asteroseismic signals. Overall, this work highlights the sensitivity of the asteroseismic imprint of accretion not only on stellar structure and evolution modelling assumptions, but also on the accretion physics. The logical next step is to arrive at a more general picture of the asteroseismic imprint of mass transfer by exploring its properties in a multi-dimensional parameter study including single- and binary-star assumptions.

16 pages + 8-page appendix, 22 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on the 7th of June 2026

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