MULTIYEAR PHOTOMETRY AND A SPECTROSCOPIC ORBITAL PERIOD SEARCH FOR THE VY SCULPTORIS TYPE CATACLYSMIC VARIABLE V794 AQUILAE

Continued photometry of the nova-like cataclysmic variable (CV) V794 A ql shows that the unusual repetitive, slow, deep declines that were re ported earlier for 1990-1992 have persisted now for over 6 years. The slow declines and rapid rises are shown to have relatively consistent shapes. This continued behavior presents some potential problems for t he model of Honeycutt, Cannizzo, & Robertson, in which the ''sawtooth' '-shaped light curve was considered to be an accretion disk instabilit y initiated as (M) over dot dropped from the nova-like regime. Alterna tive mechanisms are briefly explored and are argued to also encounter difficulties in accounting for the light curve. A radial velocity stud y of V794 Aql yields a best period of 0.1533 days (3.68 hr). Periods o f 0.1336 and 0.1787 days are considerably less likely but cannot be ru led out from the data at hand. These periods are in the expected range for VY Sculptoris type nova-like CVs.