X‐Ray Emission from the Nucleus of the Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy NGC 3226

We present the first high resolution X-ray image of the dwarf ellipticalgalaxy NGC 3226. The data were obtained during an observation of the nearbySeyfert Galaxy NGC 3227 using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We detect a pointX-ray source spatially consistent with the optical nucleus of NGC 3226 and arecently-detected, compact, flat-spectrum, radio source. The X-ray spectrum canbe measured up to ~10 keV and is consistent with a power law with a photonindex 1.7 <~ Gamma <~ 2.2, or thermal bremmstrahlung emission with 4 <~ kT <~10 keV. In both cases the luminosity in the 2--10 keV band ~10^{40} h_{75}^{-1}erg/s. We find marginal evidence that the nucleus varies within theobservation. These characteristics support evidence from other wavebands thatNGC 3226 harbors a low-luminosity, active nucleus. We also comment on twopreviously-unknown, fainter X-ray sources <~ 15 arcsec from the nucleus of NGC3226. Their proximity to the nucleus (with projected distances <~ 1.3/h_{75}kpc) suggests both are within NGC 3226, and thus have luminosities (~few x10^{38} -- few x 10^{39} erg/s) consistent with black-hole binary systems.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Figures in colo