X-Ray Sources in the Hubble Deep Field Detected by Chandra

We present first results from an X-ray study of the Hubble Deep Field North (HDF-N) and its environs obtained using 166 ks of data collected by the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) on board the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. This is the deepest X-ray observation ever reported, and in the HDF-N itself we detect six X-ray sources down to a 0.5-8 keV flux limit of ≈4 × 10-16 ergs cm-2 s-1. Comparing these sources with objects seen in multiwavelength HDF-N studies shows positional coincidences with the extremely red object NICMOS J123651.74+621221.4, an active galactic nucleus (AGN), three elliptical galaxies, and one nearby spiral galaxy. The X-ray emission from the ellipticals is consistent with that expected from a hot interstellar medium, and the spiral galaxy emission may arise from a "super-Eddington" X-ray binary or ultraluminous supernova remnant. Four of the X-ray sources have been detected at radio wavelengths. We also place X-ray upper limits on AGN candidates found in the HDF-N, and we present the tightest constraints yet on X-ray emission from the SCUBA submillimeter source population. None of the 10 high-significance submillimeter sources reported in the HDF-N and its vicinity is detected with the Chandra ACIS. These sources appear to be dominated by star formation or have AGNs with Compton-thick tori and little circumnuclear X-ray scattering.