IUE sample of binaries with hot component

The hot companions are classified accurately by temperature class from their far-UV spectra. The interstellar extinction of each system and the relative luminosities of the components are derived from analysis of the UV and optical fluxes, using a grid of UV intrinsic colors for hot dwarfs.

We find that there is fair agreement in general between current UV spectral classification and ground-based hot component types, in spite of the difficulties of assigning the latter. There are a few cases in which the cool component optical classifications disagree considerably with the temperature classes inferred from our analysis of UV and optical photometry. The extinction parameter agrees moderately well with other determinations of B-V color excess.