Spectroscopic study of the atmospheric eclipsing binary VV Cephei

We present the results of the study of 49 high dispersion spectrograms obtained at the Haute-Provence Observatory from July 1967 to January 1981, including the epoch of the eclipse of 1977. The radial velocity, intensity and profile variations of several absorption and emission lines are given. The ratio between the fluxes of the M2 giant and the hot companion versus the wavelength indicates that the temperature of the latter is about 10000 K, confirming the results previously obtained from the study of ultraviolet IUE spectra. Another confirmation is given by the complete absence of He I lines in the spectrum of the companion, which is obtained by subtracting the M2 spectrum obtained during totality from the composite spectrum obtained completely out of eclipse