Exploring the convective core of the high-amplitude $\delta$ Scuti star TIC 120857354 with asteroseismology

Abstract

Based on 2-minute cadence TESS data, 20 confident independent frequencies were identified for the star TIC 120857354. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test reveals a rotational splitting of 2.40 $\mu$Hz and a uniform frequency spacing of 74.6 $\mu$Hz. Subsequently, five sets of rotational splittings were discerned, including a quintuplet and four pairs of doublets, aligning with the characteristics of p-mode rotational splitting. Based on the sets of rotational splittings and the uniform frequency spacing, we finally identified 4 radial modes, 6 dipole modes, and 10 quadrupole modes. Furthermore, we found that the frequency separations within the $\ell$ = 2 sequences show a decreasing trend towards lower-order modes, analogous to the $\ell$ = 0 sequences. A grid of theoretical models were computed to match the identified frequencies, revealing that TIC 120857354 is a main-sequence star with $M$ = 1.54 $\pm$ 0.04 $M_{\odot}$, $Z$ = 0.015 $\pm$ 0.003, $T_{\rm eff}$ = 7441 $\pm$ 370 K, $\log g$ = 4.27 $\pm$ 0.01, $R$ = 1.52 $\pm$ 0.01 $R_{\odot}$, $L$ = 6.33 $\pm$ 1.53 $L_{\odot}$, age = 0.53 $\pm$ 0.07 Gyr, and $X_c/X_0$ = 0.84 $\pm$ 0.05. In-depth analyses suggest that $\ell$ = 2 may be p-dominated mixed modes with pronounced g-mode characteristics, enabling us to probe deeper into interiors of the star and determine the relative size of the convective core to be $R_c/R$ = 0.092 $\pm$ 0.002.