Stars are essential to our understanding of the universe. Accurate characterisation of their properties requires that we have access to precise data and theoretical models, stimulating the community to develop space-born experiments and to address outstanding problems in stellar physics.

Asteroseismology (i.e., the study of stellar pulsations) enables us to probe directly into the stellar interiors and, thus, to test and improve our theoretical models. Space-based data acquired by missions such as CoRoT/France/ESA, Kepler/NASA and TESS/NASA are driving significant advances in our understanding of stellar structure, dynamics and evolution. Nevertheless, outstanding challenges remain that impact our ability to model massive stars and stars in the late stages of evolution, which are key to the understanding of the universe.

The launch of the ESA mission PLATO (2026) will increase the number of asteroseismic targets observed for year-long periods by orders of magnitude, offering new unique opportunities to break through poorly understood physical processes taking place inside stars. The proposed research plan will leverage the exquisite asteroseismic data acquired by Kepler, TESS and PLATO and astrometric data acquired by Gaia/ESA to make decisive contributions to these key outstanding problems in stellar modelling. In particular, the research plan will address two main problems faced in state-of-the-art stellar modelling, namely, the treatment of chemical transport below convective envelopes and the mixing beyond the convective core boundary in massive main-sequence stars and stars in later phases of evolution. These physical processes are key to the accurate determination of stellar properties and impact the time span of critical evolution phases, but are usually ignored or treated in an overly simplified way. My theoretical expertise and the tools I have developed to infer information about deep layers within stars put me in a privileged position to explore the new ultra-precise space-based data from PLATO along with the Kepler, TESS and Gaia data, to further our understanding of these physical processes.

The results from the proposed research plan will reinforce my position as a world-renowned expert in theoretical asteroseismology and provide me new opportunities for leading key international research projects, also opening up avenues for pursuing new funding opportunities at both national and European levels. Additionally, the innovative nature of the proposed research will attract exceptional students and postdoctoral researchers, allowing me to further contribute to the shaping of a new generation of outstanding researchers while bolstering the international recognition of the stellar physics team at my institute.