  Magnetic, chemically peculiar stars are known for exhibiting surface
abundance inhomogeneities (chemical spots) that lead to photometric and
spectroscopic variability with the rotation period. It is commonly assumed that
the surface structures are causally connected with the global magnetic field
that dominates the photospheric and subphotospheric layers of these stars. As a
rule, the observed magnetic fields show a simple dipole-like geometry, with the
magnetic axis being noncollinear to the rotational one. The present study aims
at detecting underlying patterns in the distribution of photometric spots in a
sample of 650 magnetic, chemically peculiar stars and examines their link to
the magnetic field topology. Photometric time-series observations from the
ASAS-3 archive were employed to inspect the light-curve morphology of our
sample stars and divide them into representative classes described using a
principal component analysis. Theoretical light curves were derived from
numerous simulations assuming different spot parameters and following the
symmetry of a simple dipole magnetic field. These were subsequently compared
with the observed light curves. The results from our simulations are in
contradiction with the observations and predict a much higher percentage of
doublewave light curves than is actually observed. We thereby conclude that the
distribution of the chemical spots does not follow the magnetic field topology,
which indicates that the role of the magnetic field in the creation and
maintenance of the surface structures may be more subsidiary than what is
predicted by theoretical studies.
