GLITCHES IN SOFT-X-RAY TRANSIENTS - ECHOES OF THE MAIN BURST

Several soft X-ray transients exhibit one or more intensity jumps (''g litches'') that interrupt the decay of the initial ''main'' burst. We interpret these glitches as due to enhanced mass flow from the compani on star which is responding, essentially linearly, to beating by X-ray s from the primary. The process goes on continuously, triggered by ('' echoing'') the initial burst. A time delay T of a few months occurs in the similarly linear flow of matter from the companion surface to the X-ray-emitting inner disk. The time scale in the inner disk is a few days. If this model is correct there is evidence that the main burst, that has been observed to decay over a time less than or similar to T, is caused by a burst of mass flow from the companion.