Properties of X-ray bursts from MXB 1636-53.

The characteristics of X-ray bursts from MXB 1636-53 observed in June and July, 1979 by the burst monitor system on board the Hakucho satellite at energies between 1 and 22 keV are presented. Data from 16 bursts shows the bursts to exhibit a wide variety of profiles with no particular type of profile apparently favored and the possibility of drastic changes from burst to burst. Peak fluxes are observed to vary by a factor of about 6, while the integrated flux varies by a factor of about 4. The blackbody radius in the decay portion of the burst is, however, found to remain constant for all the burst profiles, and to correspond to a value of (9.5 + or - 1.0)(D/10 kpc) km, which is consistent with a neutron star.