Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
An original approach, the moment technique, is applied to analyze the shapes of spectral lines of Ap stars recorded in both circular polarizations. The longitudinal magnetic field, the asymmetry of the longitudinal magnetic field, and the quadratic field of the studied stars are derived. From the consideration of these quantities and of their variations through the stellar rotation cycle, constraints on the spatially unresolved structure of the magnetic fields are obtained.
Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile