AGN and starburst components of the ULIRG NGC 6240:: The Chandra high-resolution view

Many distant massive and dusty galaxies are believed to be ULIRG equivalents at high redshift. Local Ultra-luminous Infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) are ideal laboratories to study the physics of galaxy formation (many ULIRGs are mergers), the processes of IGM enrichment, the physics of superwinds driven by the nuclear star-bursts, and to search for the presence of hidden AGN. The ULIRG NGC 6240 is believed to be a merger in the process of forming an elliptical galaxy. Its proximity-the galaxy is one of the nearest members of the class of ULIRGs-makes it well suited to study the physics of this class of objects. In this contribution, we provide a discussion of the X-ray properties of NGC 6240, and present first results from our deep Chandra ACIS-S observation which allows for the first time a simultaneous spatial and spectral study of the X-ray emitting components of NGC 6240. Both nuclei as well as extended emission, changing its rich structure in dependence of energy, are detected.