BATSE observations of GX339-4

Between the summer of 1991 and the fall of 1996, BATSE observed eight outbursts from the black hole candidate GX339-4. They occurred in a declining sequence with two types of outbursts. A rough linear correlation exists between the fluence emitted during an outburst and the time elapsed between the end of the previous outburst and the beginning of the current one. The light curves of the earlier, more intense, outbursts (except for the second one) can be modeled by a fast exponential (time constant similar to 10 days) followed by a slower exponential (similar to 100 days) on the rise and a fast exponential decay (similar to 5 days) on the fall. The later, weaker, outbursts are modeled with a single rising time constant (similar to 20 days) and a longer decay on the fall (similar to 50 days). These observations can be used to constrain models of the behavior of the accretion disk surrounding the compact object.