A search for Doppler imaging targets using the ANU 2.3m telescope

Abstract

Observations and theory both indicate that magnetic fields play an important role in the early evolution of solar-type stars, but our knowledge of the physical processes involved is hampered by a lack of empirical information. As part of ongoing efforts to use Doppler Imaging (DI) to detail the early magnetic histories of the Sun and solar-type stars, we present the results of a high-resolution spectroscopic survey of young sun-like stars looking for potential DI targets. Our observational survey of some 250 stars was carried out on the 2.3m ANU telescope and its echelle spectrograph at Siding Spring between August 2008 and April 2011, and has identified several potential new targets for DI, with HIP2729 and HIP108422 the most outstanding. Thus, it should be possible to use the 2.3m telescope to Doppler Image young Suns, to clarify the early evolutionary history of dynamos in the Sun and similar stars.