In this paper, we present the first magnetic images of the rapidly
rotating young K0 dwarf AB Doradus. Simultaneous brightness images are
also reconstructed. These images are obtained from two independent data
sets recorded four to six nights (eight to twelve rotation cycles) apart,
with the UCL Echelle Spectrograph of the Anglo-Australian Telescope in
1995 December. All images are recovered from sets of ``average profiles''
obtained through a least-squares deconvolution process of about 1,500
lines throughout the whole visible spectrum.
We find that about 20% of the surface of AB Dor is covered with a
significant ( > 200 G) field, whose flux within these magnetic regions is
typically 500 G, with peaks up to 1.5 kG. The associated magnetic field
topology is essentially radial (in 1995 December) and features an
alternating east-west polarity structure at intermediate to high
latitudes, comprising up to twelve regions of opposite polarities. We
suspect that this pattern represents the emergence of buoyant flux tubes
from an underlying toroidal field structure. The toroidal field itself is
also detected at the photospheric level and switches from positive
polarity at intermediate latitudes to negative polarity in circumpolar
regions. Altogether, it suggests that the associated dynamo is probably
not purely solar-like (i.e. confined to an overshoot layer at the base of
the convective zone), but must also feature a significant component
distributed throughout the whole convective envelope.
From the evolution of brightness maps throughout eight rotations, we infer
that the pole of AB Dor rotates
Repeated observations of the H-alpha absorbing circumstellar
prominence system indicate rotation periods for individual prominences
that are significantly longer than those obtained for the mid-latitude
magnetic features. We infer that if the prominences co-rotate with
the footpoints of the magnetic structures in which they form, they
must be anchored at latitudes greater than 60 degrees.