The Variability of Rho Puppis

The results of simultaneous spectrophotometric and spectral observations of the short-period variable star, p Puppis, are reported. The amplitudes of radial-velocity, light, and temperature variations are 11 km/sec, 0.15 mag., and 280 K, respectively. The relative phases differ from those observed in cluster- type c variables. Estimates of the absolute luminosity and mass from the observed gravity and the PY(p/p5) = Q relationship indicate that either p Puppis is pulsating in a higher-order harmonic mode than the first or the theory of its pulsation is not understood.