Chandra X-ray Observations of the redshift 1.53, radio-loud quasar: 3C
  270.1
  Chandra X-ray observations of the high redshift (z =1.532) radio-loud quasar
3C270.1 in 2008 February show the nucleus to have a power-law spectrum, Gamma =
1.66 +/- 0.08, typical of a radio-loud quasar, and a marginally-detected Fe
Kalpha emission line. The data also reveal extended X-ray emission, about half
of which is associated with the radio emission from this source. The southern
emission is co-spatial with the radio lobe and peaks at the position of the
double radio hotspot. Modeling this hotspot including Spitzer upper limits
rules out synchrotron emission from a single power-law population of electrons,
favoring inverse-Compton emission with a field of ~11nT, roughly a third of the
equipartition value. The northern emission is concentrated close to the
location of a 40 deg. bend where the radio jet is presumed to encounter
external material. It can be explained by inverse Compton emission involving
Cosmic Microwave Background photons with a field of ~3nT, roughly a factor of
nine below the equipartition value. The remaining, more diffuse X-ray emission
is harder (HR=-0.09 +/- 0.22). With only 22.8+/-5.6 counts, the spectral form
cannot be constrained. Assuming thermal emission with a temperature of 4 keV
yields an estimate for the luminosity of 1.8E44 erg/s, consistent with the
luminosity-temperature relation of lower-redshift clusters. However deeper
Chandra X-ray observations are required to delineate the spatial distribution,
and better constrain the spectrum of the diffuse emission to verify that we
have detected X-ray emission from a high-redshift cluster.
