  Using a sub-pixel event repositioning technique, we spatially resolved X-ray
emission from the infrared double system IRS 5 in the R Corona Australis
molecular cloud with ~0.8" separation. As far as we know, this result -
obtained from 8 Chandra archival observations between 2000 and 2005 - is the
first X-ray study of individual sources in a Class I protostar binary system
with a projected separation of less than 200 AU. We extracted light curves and
spectra of the individual sources using a two-dimensional image fitting method.
IRS 5a at the south, the source which was brighter in the near-infrared, showed
three X-ray flares lasting >20 ksec, reminiscent of X-ray flares from pre-main
sequence stars, while the northern source (IRS 5b) was quiescent in X-rays in
all the observations except for a 2005 August 9 observation with a factor of ~2
flux enhancement. In quiescence, these sources showed almost identical X-ray
spectra, with NH ~4e22 cm-2, kT ~2 keV, and log Lx ~30.2-3 ergs s-1. IRS 5a
showed plasma at temperatures up to kT ~5-6 keV during flares, while the column
density of IRS 5b increased by a factor of 2 during an observation on 2005
August 9. We discuss the evolutionary stages and variation of the X-ray
activity of these sources.
