Acoustic modes in M67 cluster stars trace deepening convective envelopes

Abstract

Acoustic oscillations in stars are sensitive to stellar interiors1. Frequency differences between overtone modes—large separations—probe stellar density2, whereas differences between low-degree modes—small separations—probe the sound-speed gradient in the energy-generating core of main-sequence Sun-like stars3, and hence their ages. At later phases of stellar evolution, characterized by inert cores, small separations are believed to lose much of their power to probe deep interiors and become proportional to large separations4,5. Here we present evidence of a rapidly evolving convective zone as stars evolve from the subgiant phase into red giants. By measuring acoustic oscillations in 27 stars from the open cluster M67, we observe deviations of proportionality between small and large separations, which are caused by the influence of the bottom of the convective envelope. These deviations become apparent as the convective envelope penetrates deep into the star during subgiant and red giant evolutions, eventually entering an ultradeep regime that leads to the red-giant-branch luminosity bump. The tight sequence of cluster stars, free of large spreads in ages and fundamental properties, is essential for revealing the connection between the observed small separations and the chemical discontinuities occurring at the bottom of the convective envelope. We use this sequence to show that combining large and small separations can improve estimations of the masses and ages of field stars well after the main sequence. Measuring acoustic oscillations in 27 stars within the M67 cluster presents evidence of a rapidly evolving convective zone as stars evolve from subgiants to red giants.