New limits on starspot lifetimes for AB Doradus

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Abstract
I present a set of maximum entropy reconstructions of the starspot distribution on the surface of the rapidly rotating K0 dwarf AB Doradus, obtained on the night of 1992 December 14. The Doppler imaging code used in the reconstructions has been modified to incorporate a new data-weighting scheme that allows us to reconstruct stellar surface images from the profiles of several photospheric lines observed simultaneously. Comparison of the 1992 December image with the previously published images of the star in 1992 January shows very little change in the low- to intermediate-latitude spot configuration over the intervening eleven months. This is consistent with earlier reports of the long-term stability of the rotational phases of light-curve minima and maxima on this star. The structure in the high-latitude ‘polar crown’ is not so repeatable, and it appears that a new spot emerged between 1992 January and December. It is not yet clear whether the short-term variations in the star’s light-curve morphology may be linked to either high-latitude rotational shear or rapid evolution of the high-latitude magnetic structures.

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