Thermal instability accretion disk model for the X-ray transient A0620-00

The limit-cycle thermal instability model for accretion disks is used to study the soft X-ray transient A0620-00. Thermal instability in geometrically thin, Keplerian alpha-model disks is reviewed. The observational constraints on A0620-00 are presented and the parameters chosen for the model are discussed. It is found that, with the adopted parameters, the model requires a central object mass of about 7 solar masses to fit the burst recurrence time. This is consistent with a black hole as the central object. The results suggest that a mass transfer instability may be responsible for outbursts.