Doppler images and the underlying dynamo^{⋆,⋆⋆,⋆⋆⋆}

The case of AF Leporis

¹ Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
e-mail: sjarvinen@aip.de
² Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
³ Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO (FINCA), University of Turku, Väisäläntie 20, 21500 Piikkiö, Finland
⁴ Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre, University of Southern Queensland, 4350 Toowoomba, Australia
⁵ Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik, Schöneckstr. 6, 79104 Freiburg, Germany

Received: 19 May 2014
Accepted: 3 November 2014

Abstract

Context. The (Zeeman-)Doppler imaging studies of solar-type stars very often reveal large high-latitude spots. This also includes F stars that possess relatively shallow convection zones, indicating that the dynamo operating in these stars differs from the solar dynamo.

Aims. We aim to determine whether mean-field dynamo models of late-F type dwarf stars can reproduce the surface features recovered in Doppler maps. In particular, we wish to test whether the models can reproduce the high-latitude spots observed on some F dwarfs.

Methods. The photometric inversions and the surface temperature maps of AF Lep were obtained using the Occamian-approach inversion technique. Low signal-to-noise spectroscopic data were improved by applying the least-squares deconvolution method. The locations of strong magnetic flux in the stellar tachocline as well as the surface fields obtained from mean-field dynamo solutions were compared with the observed surface temperature maps.

Results. The photometric record of AF Lep reveals both long- and short-term variability. However, the current data set is too short for cycle-length estimates. From the photometry, we have determined the rotation period of the star to be 0.9660 ± 0.0023 days. The surface temperature maps show a dominant, but evolving, high-latitude (around +65°) spot. Detailed study of the photometry reveals that sometimes the spot coverage varies only marginally over a long time, and at other times it varies rapidly. Of a suite of dynamo models, the model with a radiative interior rotating as fast as the convection zone at the equator delivered the highest compatibility with the obtained Doppler images.