Deep [ITAL]CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY[/ITAL][ITAL]Chandra X-Ray Observatory[/ITAL] Imaging Study of the Very Young Stellar Cluster IC 348

We have obtained a deep (53 ks) X-ray image of the very young stellar cluster IC 348 with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on board the Chandra X-Ray Observatory . In our image with a sensitivity limit of ∼1 × 10 28 ergs s -1 (more than 10 times deeper than our ROSAT images of IC 348), 215 X-ray sources are detected. While 115 of these sources can be identified with known cluster members, 58 X-ray sources are most likely new, still unidentified cluster members. About 80% of all known cluster members with masses between ∼0.15 and 2 M ⊙ are visible as X-ray sources in our image. We discover X-ray emission at levels of ∼10 28 ergs s -1 from four of 13 known brown dwarfs and from three of 12 brown dwarf candidates in IC 348. We also detect X-ray emission from two deeply embedded objects, presumably class I protostars, south of the cluster center.