The relation of emission properties of several Be stars to the luminosity class and the spectral type.

Summary. In the 3900-6600 spectral range, about twenty B 2 type emission line stars are studied. A relation between the emission features and their variations, and the luminosity class is investigated. Three stellar groups are found in the Herman-Rojas and Rountree-Lesh classifications. a) In the first group, the stars exhibit strong emission of the higher Balmer lines. Metallic emission lines are often present. The emission is observed to be fairly stable. These stars would be of luminosity ciasses V or VAV b) In the second group, the stars exhibit emission only in the first Balmer lines. These stars would generally have luminosity class IV-III. c) The third group includes the shell stars. They would have luminosity class III. Several Be stars with a different spectral type but the same luminosity class are also studied. The time scale of the emission variation increases toward later spectral types. Key words: emission B stars classification - stellar evolution