Research study of Beta Cephei variable stars using data from OAO-2

Photometric data from the Wisconsin Experiment package on OAO-2 were obtained for six Beta Cephei variable stars. The data were reduced in accordance with the OAO 2/Wisconsin Experiment Package Photometer Users Guide. For delta Cet and gamma Peg, there were enough data points to form reliable composite light curves at seven or eight ultraviolet wavelengths. The light curves are well represented by sine waves in phase with the blue light curve for each star. The amplitude of the light variation increases with shorter wavelengths. For theta Oph, epsilon Cen, eta Sco, and Lambda Sco, mean magnitudes and light ranges were obtained at several ultraviolet wavelengths. No significant differences were found between the mean, de-reddened ultraviolet colors of the observed stars, and the mean values for standard stars computed by Bottemiller. An attempt to derive a temperature scale from a comparison of the observed ultraviolet colors with Kurucz models was unsuccessful.