An MK-like system of spectral classification for hot subdwarfs

An MK (Morgan-Keenan)-like system of spectral classification for hot subdwarfs is presented. We find that a three-dimensional spectral type, consisting of a "spectral" class, a "luminosity" class, and a "helium" class, is necessary to classify the sdO (subdwarf O) and sdB (subdwarf B) stars. In addition, the helium-strong stars appear to form two parallel spectral sequences: one showing strong lines of CII, CIII, or CIV, and the other with these same lines weak or absent. We also give a preliminary calibration of the new spectral types in terms of effective temperature, surface gravity, and surface helium-to-hydrogen abundance ratio, and show the relation between the new spectral types and the natural groups defined by the Palomar-Green (PG) survey.

The normalized, unsmoothed spectra used in this paper are available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/551/A31