Photometry and polarimetry of the classical Herbig Ae star VV Ser

We present the results of our long-term photometric and polarimetric observ ations of the classical Herbig Ac star VV Ser. performed at the Crimean Ast rophysical Observatory as part of a program of photometric and polarimetric monitoring of UX Ori stars. We recorded an unusually deep minimum of VV Se t (DeltaV approximate to 3"'), with a turn of the color tracks in the V-(U- B) and V-(B-V) diagrams ("the blueing effect") observed for the first time for this star. The increase of the linear polarization during the minimum b rightness was consistent with expectations for variable circumstellar extin ction models, and the maximum polarization in the B band reached a record v alue for UX Ori stars in the deepest part of the minimum (12.8 +/- 1.4%). O ur results cannot he explained by models with an axially symmetrical circum stellar dust disk consisting of silicate grains. They point to the existenc e of a large-scale nonuniformity in the azimuthal dust distribution near VV Ser attributable to the presence of a secund component or protoplant. (C) 2001 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".