2001ApJ...546L..87F

We detected an excess of hard X-ray emission at energies above ∼4 keV from the group of galaxies HCG 62 using data from the ASCA satellite. The excess emission is spatially extended up to ∼10' from the group center and somewhat enhanced toward the north. Its spectrum can be represented by either a power law of photon index 0.8-2.7 or a bremsstrahlung of temperature greater than 6.3 keV. In the 2-10 keV range, the observed hard X-ray flux, (1.0±0.3)x10^–12 ergs.cm^–2.s^–1, implies a luminosity of (8.0±2.0)x10⁴¹ ergs.s^–1 for a Hubble constant of 50 km.s^–1.Mpc^–1. The emission is thus too luminous to be attributed to X-ray binaries in the member galaxies. We discuss possible origins of the hard X-ray emission.