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Description
We present a library of mean ultraviolet stellar energy distributions derived from International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) low-resolution spectrophotometry of 216 stars. The library is intended to facilitate interpretation of the composite UV light of stellar populations such as star clusters and galaxies. The spectra cover 1205-3185 Angstroms with a spectral resolution of approximately 6 A. The individual stellar spectra were corrected for interstellar extinction (using the Savage-Mathis law), converted to a common flux scale, and interpolated to a common wavelength scale. Stars were combined into standard groups according to their intrinsic continuum colors, observed UV spectral morphology, MK luminosity class, and metal abundance. The library consists of 56 groups: 21 dwarf (V), 8 subgiant (IV), 16 giant (III), and 11 supergiant (I+II) groups, covering O3-M4 spectral types. A metal-poor sequence is included, containing four dwarf and two giant groups, as is a metal-enhanced sequence with a single dwarf, subgiant, and giant group. More information on the library compilation and descriptions of the behaviour of spectral indices characterizing the continuum and strong absorption features are given in the paper. The spectra themselves (in the uvgroups.fit file) were previously released in the AAS CD-ROM Series Volume VII (1996); see Leitherer et al. "A Database for Galaxy Evolution Modeling" (1996PASP..108..996L).
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