Spectral variability of the α Sco AB binary system observed with IUE

We present ultraviolet spectra of the α Sco AB binary system taken by the International Ultraviolet Explorer during the period from 1979 to 1995. An investigation is carried out on the spectral variability of Mg II k and h emission lines arising from the chromosphere of α Sco A (Van der Hucht et al., 1979). There are absorption and emission components on the blue sides of the Mg II k and h lines, which are formed in the cool circumstellar gas shells around two stars (Bernat and Lambert, 1976).This work is based on calculations of line fluxes and line widths for the aforementioned spectral lines. We found that there is spectral variability for these physical parameters with pulsation phase, which we attribute to the changes of density and temperature of the chromosphere of α Sco A as a result of the semi-regular pulsation and the variability of mass loss of the red supergiant (Reimers et al., 2008). The observed values of the k-to-h ratio are approximately one, implying that the k and h emission lines originate from an optically thick atmosphere.