Light Curve of CR Bootis 1990-2012 from the Indiana Long-Term Monitoring Program

Two telescopes are used at the Morgan-Monroe Observatory of Indiana University for autonomous long-term photometric monitoring of stellar sources, mostly cataclysmic variable stars. The instrumentation is designed and implemented to be appropriate for multiyear automated monitoring. The capabilities and limitations of the equipment are described, along with accounts of the software, the reduction procedures, the motivations for the scientific programs, and the execution of the observing campaigns. Data on the AM CVn-type cataclysmic variable CR Boo are presented and discussed as an example of the kinds of light curves generated at this facility. The He-rich disk in CR Boo has SU UMa-type outburst behavior, with both superoutbursts and what appear to be dwarf nova outbursts. However, the light curve is quite irregular and displays a wide variety of unusual features such as switching among several superoutburst recurrence intervals, and having intervals of dwarf nova-like outbursts that seem to come and go. We discuss the likelihood that deterministic chaos is responsible for these irregularities.