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Testing the rotating hot spot model using X-ray burst oscillations from 4U 1636-536

Precise and accurate measurements of neutron star masses and radii would provide valuable information about the still uncertain properties of cold matter at supranuclear densities. One promising approach to making such measurements involves analysis of the X-ray flux oscillations often seen during thermonuclear (type 1) X-ray bursts. These oscillations are almost certainly produced by emission from hotter regions on the stellar surface modulated by the rotation of the star. One consequence of the rotation is that the oscillation should appear earlier at higher photon energies than at lower energies. Ford (1999) found compelling evidence for such a hard lead in the tail oscillations of one type 1 burst from Aql X-1. We have therefore analyzed individually the oscillations observed in the tails of the four type 1 bursts from 4U 1636-536 that, when averaged, provided the strongest evidence for a soft lead in the analysis by Muno et al. (2003). We have also analyzed the oscillation observed during the superburst from this star. We find that the data from these five bursts, treated both individually and jointly, are fully consistent with a rotating hot spot model. Unfortunately, the uncertainties in these data are too large to provide interesting constraints on the mass and radius of this star.