Photometry of barium stars on the DDO system

Intermediate-band photoelectric photometry on the DDO system has been obtained for 82 stars which have previously been found to belong to the barium star group. In color-color diagrams, their luminosities appear to range from MK classes Ib to III, when compared to relations derived for normal stars, with most appearing of class II. The luminosity is uncorrelated with the intensity of the barium line appearing in their spectra. Since a number of investigators have found barium stars to be of normal giant luminosity, we conclude that by the DDO indices as applied to normal stars, the barium stars appear overluminous. This luminosity anomaly is not due to unrealistic reddening corrections, which are very small. It is also not likely to be the result of the overabundance of any obvious carbon feature, or to low surface gravity due to mass loss.