ER Ursae Majoris: A dwarf nova with surprises

ER Ursae Majoris is a relatively bright member of the SU UMa-type dwarf novae that undergoes frequent eruptions of amplitude ~2 mag every ~4 d. In addition to these ordinary dwarf-nova outbursts, ER UMa shows brighter eruptions (superoutbursts) lasting ~20 d with a recurrence time of ~44 d. As other members of the SU UMa class, ER UMa displays a characteristic periodic modulation (superhumps) in its light curve during the course of a superoutburst, the period being a few percent longer than the orbital period of the underlying binary system. A routine photometric patrol of ER UMa during its January 2011superoutburst became much more interesting after noticing the presence of an additional modulation in its light curve, with a period slightly shorter than the orbital period. Similar photometric waves (known as negative superhumps) have already been observed in other cataclysmic variables, mainly in nova-like systems, but only in a small handful of SU UMa-type stars during quiescence, and never before during a superoutburst. We report in this communication the results of a worldwide photometric campaign that was orchestrated right after the discovery of negative superhumps in ER UMa, and provide a thorough analysis of the data obtained from more than 10 stations of the Center of Backyard Astrophysics (CBA) network, which include more than 1000 hours of photometric data over a 4-month baseline on 2011, and a similar (still in progress) dense coverage in 2012.