Differential population synthesis of early-type galaxies. I - Spectrophotometric atlas of synthesis standard spectra Continuous spectrophotometry has been obtained for 200 objects at aresolution of 10-17 A over the wavelength region 3600-10,000 A.Kron-Cousins BVRI colors are computed from the spectra and compared withpublished photoelectric photometry. The (V - R)C color index is used togroup the individual observations to form synthesis standard spectra for48 common spectral types. The standard groups include a solar abundancesequence of most spectral types and luminosity classes, metal-rich andmetal weak G - K giant-branch sequences, and horizontal-branch giants.The variations with color, luminosity, and metallicity of severalprominent line strengths are discussed. The spectral atlas is availableas a FITS magnetic tape.
