Chandra observations of ARP 220:: The nuclear source

We present the first results from 60 ks of observations of Arp 220 using the ACIS-S instrument on Chandra. We report the detection of several sources near the galaxy's nucleus, including a point source with a hard spectrum that is coincident with the western radio nucleus B. This point source is mildly absorbed (N-H similar to 3 x 10(22) cm(-2)) and has an estimated luminosity of 4 x 10(40) ergs s(-1). In addition, a fainter source may coincide with the eastern nucleus A. Extended hard X-ray emission in the vicinity raises the total estimated nuclear 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity to 1.2 x 10(41) ergs s(-1), but we cannot rule out a hidden active galactic nucleus behind columns exceeding 5 x 10(24) cm(-2). We also detect a peak of soft X-ray emission to the west of the nucleus and a hard point source 2.5 kpc from the nucleus with a luminosity of 6 x 10(39) ergs s(-1).